Beyond the Dawn: Breaking Dawn Reimagined (Life and Death - Book II)
by beyondthedawn
Summary: A faithful sequel to Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined by Stephenie Meyer. Based on Breaking Dawn, the last book of the Twilight saga. For a more detailed explanation of this story, read my author's note. Be sure to check out the chapter playlist on Spotify! (be sure to remove the spaces in the link) spoti. fi/ 2UOvmKQ
1. A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

No two writers ever go about things in exactly the same way. As much as I might like to be as good as Stephenie Meyer, and as much as I might love her work, I am not her. My writing will never live up to that. As Beau would say, we're "not even in the same stratosphere."

We all have our own inspirations and intentions. We all have our reasons why some characters really stay with us. Honestly, I've never truly figured out why the characters and story of Life and Death became my obsession; all I know is that one day I was reading a book that had me so entranced that I couldn't accept the fact that it came to an end. I was like a vampire trying animal blood in place of a human's. I was not fully satisfied.

The story had to go on. Stephenie Meyer created a world I wanted to live in. I wanted to crawl inside this book and live it. I wanted to be this character.

And that, my friends, is why this miracle is sitting in your hands right now, despite my seriously woeful lack of imagination. I never would have dreamed I'd actually finish something like this, a book. (It sounds so weird to me to apply that word to something I created.)

Luckily, I already had the backbone for this story because I knew Bella's story so well. I knew what should happen after because of what happened to the main-series counterparts. The next step was to step away from Bella and see how the story should flow with the necessary changes that were made to Life and Death.

Here's how it worked: I outlined a basic synopsis of everything that happens to Bella. Then I thought of the way Beau understands his world and took into account the differences in his experiences. I started to entertain the ideas of what would play out differently for Beau. I also thought about what side stories and mythology I could dig deeper into.

I first worked out the major events and then pieced them together in a way that felt very natural. I'm beyond pleased with how it all seemed to fit together so well. All that was left was for me to just fill in the gaps and connect the pieces.

Okay, not just fill in the gaps. This was more of an undertaking that had me slaving away over computer off and on for what you could say was an EXCESSIVE amount of time, to say the least. Microsoft Word and I got into many brawls along the way. She and I have a love-hate partnership.

The end product you're now holding came after I wrote, then edited, then wrote some more, then re-wrote, revised... and revised some more... ran it through the Grammarly editing program... and revised AGAIN AND AGAIN...

(If you've read some iteration of my earlier drafts you'll be surprised how much has changed after all this time.)

Seriously, do you know how hard it is to arrive at a stopping point with something like this? I thought I would never be content with it. But that day has finally come, a little over two years after the inception of this thing.

The result is what I like to think of as a conglomerate of various scenarios and plotlines from Breaking Dawn, as well as a few things from New Moon and Eclipse. These are woven together into the story that became Beau's version, all in a standalone sequel. And that, hopefully, will feel as seamless as possible for you.

If you've read the main series, this will likely be quite familiar to you, and my intention is that you will find a refreshing take on that story.

If you're a newcomer, I'm excited that my version will be your first chance to experience the epic conclusion to Stephenie's saga that ended ten years ago. I can only pray that I've done it justice!

Keep in mind there are some key differences necessary in this version because:

\- Beau and Edythe can't conceive a child, as this scenario requires that the female be human

\- Beau is believed to be dead by his family and friends

\- Beau and Julie Black are not as close without having had the bonding and relationship development that occurs in New Moon and Eclipse

\- The werewolf pack is only slightly developed, though it still exists in the same dynamic

\- Due to the above, the point-of-view shift that helps the story along occurs through Branden (Bree Tanner) rather than Julie

\- Without the respective events of New Moon, Lauren remains alive and can side with the Cullens. Likewise, Ivan does not have the hard feelings towards the Cullens that Irina had

\- Victor has also not been killed

\- There is a small change in how one major character's special abilities work, and I have various complicated reasons for this

\- Some minor characters introduced in Breaking Dawn who do no not play a major role in advancing the plot are excluded for the sake of pacing. This also accommodated space for details and events incorporated from the other books. (Sorry, I tried my best to keep all your favorites!)

\- Sulpicia and Athenodora have slightly different personalities than Aro and Caius, and the dynamic they bring as leaders of the Volturi is altered to some degree

\- As with Life and Death, there is an alternate ending that explores another possible outcome

My wish is that the changes won't distract or deter you too much from the story, and that you'll enjoy the rest of Beau's journey as much as I did. If I can successfully make any of you laugh or cry with this thing then I will feel accomplished.

And without further ado, I'll stop talking and let you get on with reading. Thanks for sticking with me!

Ladies and gents, I present to you...

 ** _Beyond the Dawn_**

 _(Breaking Dawn_ Reimagined)

based on the classic novel by Stephenie Meyer


	2. PREFACE

And as the moons of youth spilled once more into dawn

we found ourselves infinite again,

if even for a moment.

\- Atticus

PREFACE

She knew the secret, but she kept it. She had gladly agreed to serve the ancient dynasty in hopes that one day she would be one of them. She knew that her life was at risk every day. If at any moment she wasn't deemed useful enough, she would be disposed of. It was an undertaking she was willing to accept.

Unbeknownst to Bianca, she was only the most recent servant in a long list of many… Many who had tried and failed. It was a rare event that the ancients found someone's skills to be more valuable than their blood.

Today, she took a message over the phone, and it sounded very important. Excited to be the deliverer of anything significant, Bianca set off down the long corridor with the message scribbled hastily on a small piece of parchment. She had even almost forgotten how presentation was everything to her masters. She quickly folded the message and placed it on the center of a silver platter.

Bianca gingerly knocked twice on the behemoth doors before peeking inside the large room. It was nearly black inside at this time, but a smooth voice called out from somewhere in the darkness.

"Oh? What a pleasant surprise. Do come in, child."

The girl walked forward carefully with the platter. She was terrified as she paced the stone floor, her legs trembling with each step of the red high heels she was wearing. She curtsied slightly before the ancient ones, presenting what she'd come to offer.

"For you, Lady Sulpicia."

She could hardly see the ancients' faces as they sat back in their thrones. Sulpicia stood in her stoic grace. She ghosted forward, close enough that Bianca's inferior eyes could see her face.

Sulpicia's face lit up. "Ah, it's from our dear friend, Carine Cullen," Sulpicia exclaimed as she took the note. "It appears she has added a new member to her coven. Lovely Edythe has found a mate after all this time…" She gave Bianca a disapproving look. "Might I add that her name is spelled with a 'Y', sweet Bianca."

Bianca swallowed nervously. "Of course," she nodded. "My mistake."

Sulpicia reclaimed her place in the center throne with the unfolded paper in hand. She shook her head condescendingly and made a small gesture with her right hand that Bianca barely noticed.

Two of the black=shrouded guards appeared immediately on either side of the girl. Her eyes grew wide with fear.

Sulpicia's attention returned to the message, seeming to ignore the human girl altogether. "The young boy was given immortality after all."

"Is that so?" Marcus' uninterested voice weighed in.

Athenodora let out a long sigh. "Tell me, sister… Do you truly believe this to be a simple announcement for engagement? They clearly mock us! Both in their transgression and in their increase in power. They are the largest coven apart from our own, yet you ignore this obvious plot for mutiny."

"Mmmm…" Sulpicia sighed in disappointment, though it was a distaste for the human girl rather than Athenodora. She handed the message over to Marcus. "First, it was the spelling… But just look at the grammar."

"At least it seems our grievance with the Cullens is over", Marcus said apathetically.

Sulpicia laughed mischievously. "Over? Goodness, no… Our contention with the Cullens goes far beyond the fate of a mere human."

Marcus sighed and slunk back into his throne.

Curiosity spread across Athenodora's face. "And what might it be?"

Sulpicia chuckled again as she motioned for the guards to take Bianca away.

The guards lifted the girl up by each arm. Bianca tried feebly to break free from their stone grip. She started to scream.

"Why, sister, I thought you'd known me better than that."

Athenodora raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Sulpicia stared after the guards dragging the girl out the door, and her face turned up into a wicked smile.

"They have something I _want_ … and I intend to make it mine."

Marcus turned back face the women. For the first time in a long time, there was a small hint of concern in his expression. "I wouldn't press this issue again, sister… We ought not to perceive Carine as competition. We shall consider her our ally."

The sisters ignored Marcus.

Athenodora's smug expression grew at the idea. "Patience… I'm certain the opportunity will arise in due time."

Sulpicia nodded conspiratorially. "And so it shall… It shall, indeed."

Their sinister laughter pierced the air as Bianca's blood spilled to the floor.


	3. PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE

Thick sheets of rain pelted the windows of the Forks Police station. The rolling thunder shook the panels of the roof, and lightning cast shadows all across the inner walls. But this display was lost on Charlie.

We watched from the outside, high up in the largest hemlock, as my dad sat down at his desk the same way he always did forty hours a week. Only this time, he wasn't working mindfully over the heaps of papers scattered across his desk. Instead, he was staring off out the window, ignoring the work that had piled up in the week of his absence following the funeral—my funeral.

I winced as I watched the lump swell up in his throat, eventually spilling over into a helpless tear that spilled over to run down his cheek. No one had seen my dad so wrecked before, not even those who'd known him when my mom left with me the year I was born. He'd managed to hold it together in the public eye at least. But nothing could shatter a man like the loss of a child, especially one he had just barely gotten back in his life.

And now he would be convinced that I hadn't wanted to stay in it. Because what else would he think of my last words to him? In my bluff, I'd left no trace of doubt in how much I hated Forks. For all he knew, I'd merely existed in this town despite my distaste for it because I felt the need to please both my parents. And I'm sure he was convinced that burden on me had finally proven too much. After all, I'd fled in the night—in a beat up old truck he had bought for me—and gotten myself killed.

I watched Edythe slip inside then. Charlie was too detached to hear the door of the station creak open. Edythe peeked in, her hair plastered to her face from the rain. Hesitantly, she pressed into the room and found her way to his office.

Charlie looked up fractionally when her silent footsteps ended in front of his desk. He saw her hauntingly beautiful face, though there was something obviously solemn in her expression. I wondered how much of the blame he put on her.

How many times had he even met Edythe? Twice? Once when the Cullens had moved to town, and the second when I introduced her to him as my girlfriend?

Edythe held out the letter in her hand.

"Edythe?" his voice cracked. He sniffed as he attempted to regain his composure. "What is this?"

She didn't speak right away. It was like she was looking for the right words. She was a good actor, totally stricken with grief for me. "Charlie… I wanted to tell you how profoundly sorry I am that I wasn't there for the service."

Charlie nodded, and Edythe placed the letter on his desk. He lifted it curiously, and Edythe smiled a tiny bit, just one corner of her mouth rising up. But the expression quickly disappeared.

"He left this for me when he… went away," she explained. "I thought about keeping it, but I decided that you should know."

Charlie looked up curiously. Then he glanced down nervously at the note I had only just written—my only form of closure I could offer him.

When he didn't say anything, Edythe spoke again quietly. "Please, Charlie. I think you need to read it to… understand. It's just that I know you have a lot of questions about why he felt the way he did. I was hoping this might help."

Charlie leaned over his desk, taking the letter in both hands. But it was like he couldn't bring himself to unfold it.

A regretful expression passed over Edythe's face, her eyebrows pulling together. "I… I have to go now." She crossed back the way she came, but she turned at the door to face him once more. "And Charlie. I'm so sorry. I really am."

Edythe was at my side on the branch next to me seconds later. She wrapped her arms around me.

"Is he reading it yet?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Not yet. He's unwilling... He's trying to decide whether it will do him any good to read something you'd written."

We waited for several minutes as the rain continued to come down. I heard Charlie sigh eventually, then the ruffling of paper as he unfolded my letter.

 _Edythe_ , I had written, trying purposefully to make the handwriting not so neat.

 _First, I want to say I'm sorry. Really sorry. But I don't think I can do this. Any of this._

 _The future you talked about scares me. Not because I don't want it, but because I think I actually do._

 _The whole idea of graduating together, going to the same college, even getting married and starting a family. It sounded so good to me._

 _But it's just too good, Edythe. It's the same plan my mom had figured out with my dad, and it sounded great on paper but it fell apart._

 _It wasn't either of their faults. It just didn't work out. It broke something in my dad. Even now I can see it in the little things he does._

 _How he never changed the house from the way mom left it. How he works long hours as if he's afraid of coming home to no one._

 _And I'm too much like him._

Here I made the scribbling more frantic like I had to force the words out.

 _I can see my future if things don't work out. I'm not saying this because I don't want to become my dad._

 _It's because I know I wouldn't be strong enough to survive the way he did. I wouldn't keep going if this fell through and you left me stuck here._

 _I can only appreciate the strength he has now, Edythe, after knowing you._

 _And loving you._

"The things you said about love and marriage are throwing him for a loop," Edythe said. "He hadn't realized our relationship was so intense. For all he knew, we were only just going on our first date."

"Hopefully he can understand," I answered. "He should empathize through his own experiences."

 _And because I've realized how devastating it would be to lose you. So I'm leaving first. I need distance. I need to figure out if I'm really ready to go down this road, knowing there is no way back. And maybe I_ _'_ _ll realize I_ _'_ _m making the biggest mistake of my life and I_ _'_ _ll coming crawling back to you. I_ _'_ _ll beg you and Charlie to forgive me for ever doing this. I_ _'_ _ll let you call me an idiot coward then. But for right now, I have to go my own way so I can figure out what I really want. So hold onto this for me till then._

 _Sorry,_

 _Beau_

I heard Charlie inhale deeply, his breath hitching before it could come out. The paper crinkled as he folded it back up and placed it on the desk. The pain of losing me would never fully go away, but at least now he had perspective enough to know he shouldn't blame himself.

Because it was the loss of my mom that made Charlie into the kind of man that inspired the fear of loss in me. I hoped he would take this and know that I would want him to show the strength I'd always thought he'd carried.

I felt Edythe's lips beneath my ear. "Charlie will recover, Beau. His mind is strong. You know that, right?"

And I knew she was right.

I never could have imagined that choosing to leave my mom would have been so consequential a few months later. I couldn't have possibly known what lay ahead of me.

From the first time I'd seen her, Edythe had changed the course of my life in ways that I never could have prepared myself for. Would I have done anything differently if I'd known what was to come? I couldn't bring myself to say I would have.

Most of the time I am so utterly grateful, so lost in my passion that all I can see is her. Still, there are the other times where I feel the deep sting of the loss of who I had been, the remorse for the chaos I'd brought down on my family when I'd turned their world upside down. That would always be the hardest part. Charlie and Reneé. I wished there was some way that I would be the only one who had to suffer, but that was impossible.

All I could do now was vow that I would always be as happy and in love as my parents ever wanted me to be. I would be exactly that, for every second of forever. And for us, forever would be just the beginning.

There was just one more thing to take care of.

"Humor me." I motioned broadly toward the general direction of the Cullens' house. I led Edythe back the way we'd come. We walked through the front door and flipped the lights on.

I called out the names with no more volume than regular conversation. "Carine? Earnest? Royal? Jessamine? Eleanor? Archie?"

Carine was suddenly standing beside us. "How did it go, Beau?"

"It couldn't have gone better," I smiled. "I really think Charlie is going to pull through."

Carine nodded.

"Now I'd just like to talk all of you at once, if that's okay," I said.

Edythe's face was inquisitive. When I looked at Carine, she was staring at Edythe, too.

"Of course," she said. "Why don't we talk in the other room."

Carine led the way into the other room, around the corner to the dining room. The chandelier came on from the high ceiling. Underneath it was a large, polished table surrounded by eight chairs.

I'd never seen anyone use the dining room table before. It was just a prop.

I slid out a chair and motioned for Carine to sit. I sat down to her left, and Edythe on my other side.

Earnest came into the room, and behind him the rest of the family came in. They all took their seats around the table.

Archie was already smiling at me, and I imagined how he was probably already in on the plot. Which turned out to be true because Edythe kicked my foot under the table. "It doesn't matter the slightest what they say," she whispered.

"This affects all of them. They have a say in this," I answered.

Eleanor and Jessamine looked curious. Even Royal betrayed a tentative smile.

"The floor is yours," Carine nodded.

I swallowed. All the gazing eyes made me nervous. This was going to take some getting used to.

Archie continued to grin his smug expression.

"Well," I paused. "I'm assuming Archie already told you guys everything?"

"Everything," Archie confirmed.

"So we're all on the same page," I began. "Now that everything has happened the way it's happened, whether any of us like it or not… Here we are. I've become one of you. My problem is that I can't help but feel like I've forced myself into all your lives in such a permanent way. I'm sorry about that." I looked at each one of their beautiful faces. They were all still friendly, except for Edythe, whose face turned down into a grimace. "So if you don't actually want me to be a part of your family, I won't just make you stick with me, whether Archie is willing or not."

Earnest opened his mouth to speak, but I held up a hand to stop him.

"Let me finish. You all know that this is what I wanted. And you know what Edythe wants. The only fair way to decide is for everyone to vote. Just pretend for a moment that the circumstances hadn't been so dire. If I were still a human, no tracker or danger to speak of, this would still be what I would want in the end. But the question is, would you want me to become one of you? If you decide you don't think I should be, that's fine. Edythe and I can go off alone." My forehead creased as I considered that option.

I looked at Archie to go first. "Archie?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Beau!" He jumped out of his chair to come bear hug me, lifting me up off the ground. "I've already considered you my brother for a long time now."

I nodded, businesslike. "Thank you, Archie… Jessamine?"

"Yes," she said with no hesitation. I hadn't been sure of her vote, but I suppressed my surprised and moved on.

"Royal?"

He hesitated for a moment, biting his lip. "No."

This one, I had expected. But it still hurt a little. I turned my face to move down the line. Then Royal held a hand up.

"Let me explain," he said. "I don't mean this as any aversion to you. It's just that this is not the life I would have chosen for myself. I wish there had been someone to vote no for me. So no."

I nodded.

Eleanor laughed and extended her hand across the table to me. "I say hell, yes!" She grabbed my hand firmly. "Welcome, brother!"

I was still grinning when I looked at Earnest.

"Of course, yes, Beau. You are what brings Edythe happiness."

"Thank you, Earnest."

I turned toward Carine, the vote that mattered most.

"It would be the only way that would have made any sense, had these events not necessitated it," Carine insisted. "Edythe had already chosen not to live without you, so that would have left me no choice. You know my vote."

"Thank you," I nodded. "That's all I needed to hear. Thank you for wanting to have me around. I feel the same about all of you, too. I'm honored to be a part of the family." My voice was jagged with emotion at the end.

Edythe took my face tightly between her hands and kissed me until I was so dizzy that the world seemed to be spinning. I didn't let go.


	4. ENGAGEMENT

1\. ENGAGEMENT

 _May 20, 2005_

There was only one place in the entire world that would always belong to _us_ and no one else—a magic place, full of light and beauty. It had been illuminated by sunshine and the glow of her skin the first time I had seen it.

The meadow was a peaceful, quiet place today. Patches of summer daises interrupted the grass with splashes of white and yellow. I lay back with Edythe, feeling the slight dampness of the ground, and stared up at the clouds above us. She grabbed my hand after a moment, pointing to something she was seeing abstractly in the formations above. I saw no pictures though, just a soft, gray blanket. She always had this intuition about her—seeing things in a way that no one else could.

Looking back now, I wished I could have seen Edythe that first time with _these_ eyes… She was so incandescently beautiful, she the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. But with time, I came to realize that her beauty was the least interesting thing about her.

She mumbled something inaudibly to herself. This was something she did often, and I never knew what provoked it. I wished I could see into her head, the way she could with everyone else.

"And yet, to say the truth…" She paused, watching the sunlight shimmer from our outstretched hands, "reason and love keep little company together nowadays."

I turned to take in her angelic face in full.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" she asked.

I smiled. "I was just thinking… It's almost your birthday."

"It's a month away, Beau. Don't get ahead of yourself."

"Hey, you only get to be a hundred and four once, old woman."

She laughed. "We're the same age. I'm seventeen forever, and so are you."

I sighed. "I don't think that counts. You're technically like, what… eighty-six years older I am?"

She shrugged. "Did you know Earnest is three years older than Carine, physically?"

I shook my head.

"Yet she'd been around two centuries before Earnest even existed. It makes no difference to them."

"My age isn't really that important, Edythe. I just worry sometimes that you feel guilty that I wasn't able to like, get older than seventeen. But I chose my life. It's the same choice I would have made, had I been a little older. You didn't take anything away from me. You gave me everything."

Edythe was suddenly grabbing me around my waist, and she pulled herself up onto my torso. She was quiet for a moment. I stared at her hair, the sun shining through the deep bronze, almost red against the brightness.

"But if you insist on celebrating the occasion…" she pondered. "How about I take you up on your promise?"

I stared, trying to think of what she was referring to. I raised an eyebrow.

"Marry me, Beau."

"Oh…"

Her eyes shifted down slightly. "Unless you don't want to, I suppose. But you did promise."

"It's not that… It's just I already sort of thought we were already as official as it could be. We don't need any fanfare. Besides… so soon? I mean, I'm only s—"

She interrupted me. "It doesn't have to be some grand production. We won't need any guests or anything like that. We could go to Vegas. I just want it to be official—that you belong to me and _no one else_."

"Ha!" I couldn't help laughing. "There is no one else."

The description didn't sound that bad, though. Archie would be disappointed, though. He'd get a kick out of a good celebration.

I took a deep breath and smiled.

"Edythe Cullen?" I looked over at her, staring intently into the liquid topaz of her eyes. "I promise to love you every second of forever. Will you do me the extraordinary honor of marrying me?"

I said it in more of a teasing way. I didn't mean for it to come across as disgustingly gooey or more romantic than I was capable of. But she almost looked like she was about to cry.

"I thought you'd never ask!" she teased, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Thank you."

I guess it shouldn't bother me that much—getting married at such a young age. But I suppose it was better now than ever. A road trip to Vegas… It couldn't take long. I could handle that.

"So when do you want to do this thing?"

"This summer," she answered.

And then a tiny cell phone in Edythe's back pocket started to buzz.

"Yes?" she answered.

I heard Archie babbling on the other end. And from the sound of it, he wasn't too happy about this.

"I think…" she made a face as she spoke, "that you're going to want to speak to your brother about this issue," she said, handing me the phone.

I held it gingerly to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Beau?" Archie asked in his most dejected, sad voice.

"What's wrong, Archie?" I asked, but I already knew what was coming.

"You hate me, don't you?" He sounded so miserable it was almost funny.

"Archie, what are you talking about? Of course I don't—"

"Then _why_ do I see you sneaking off to Vegas to get married without involving me?"

"Ugh…" I sighed. I never would have thought we could really hurt his feelings like that. I hurried to defend ourselves. "I just didn't want it to be a big deal. It was Edythe's idea anyway. You're welcome to come if you want."

There was a short pause.

"Beau, you said you don't hate me."

"Seriously, I don't! You can totally come with us. I won't mind."

Another pause

"Actually, I was wondering how _much_ do you _not_ hate me?"

There were so many hidden meanings in the way he phrased this question. "Archie, what is it? Just spit it out. It's okay."

"Please, please, please!" he begged. "Please, Beau, please, if you really are my best friend… Let me plan your wedding!"

"Archieeeee," I groaned. "Don't do this to me."

"If you really are my best friend, Beau…"

"This isn't fair," I accused. "And it's not just _my_ wedding. It's hers, too."

"I'll bet Edythe would like it better anyhow! And Carine and Earnest… what it would mean to them!"

I couldn't answer.

"I'll owe you for a decade," he added.

"More like a century," I muttered.

"Is that a yes?!"

"Not really."

"Beau, you won't have to do anything but stand at the altar and then repeat the words. Please, please, pleeeeease?"

I could practically see him bouncing up and down in place.

I glared at Edythe and sighed. "I'm never going to forgive you for this, Archie."

"Yeah, alright!" he yelled. "You two get back here this instant! We have to start planning this thing."

"What? Now? Archie, it's months away."

The line went dead. I squinted at Edythe. "The things you get me into."

"We better hurry," she teased. "You don't want to keep that kid waiting."

Archie was on the porch steps when we got back, too hyper to wait for us inside the house. He looked like he was about to break into a celebration dance.

"Thank you so much, Beau!" he cried out as we approached.

"Hold it!" I said, putting a hand up to halt his glee. "I have some limitations for this thing…"

"Yeah, yeah, I already know… I only have until the end of summer at the latest, you have veto power on anything I decide, and if I go overboard, you'll never speak to me again."

I laughed. "Wow. You're good. I guess you know the rules then."

"Don't worry about it, Beau. It's going to be amazing. The best party of the year. I've already picked out Edythe's dress!"

Something told me Archie had already been planning this long before I had even thought of it.

"Just out of curiosity… When exactly did you buy all our stuff?" I asked.

His face went totally defensive. "These things take time, Beau. If I hadn't thought ahead, you two would be wearing something off the rack! Carolina Herrera has a waiting list, you know."

"Carol—who? Wait… never mind. Don't answer that. I don't even want to know. But do I get to see this dress?"

"Of course not, Beau!" he groaned. "You know the rules. You can't see it until the day of."

I looked at Edythe. "You knew about this all along, didn't you?"

"I just had to make sure you'd be happy with it," she shrugged.

Archie started pacing then. "So much to do… So little time… Alright, you two go play now. I have to get to work!"

He dashed back into the house.

We still had much to discuss, so we made our way back to our escape. The other matter at hand was our family's quiet escape from Forks. Since graduation was over, Carine was planning her family's disappearance. And I can't say it wasn't necessary. Carine barely looked a day over twenty-seven, and she was trying to pass as thirty-five now. I bet no one bought that.

"So you're really willing to let this place go?" I asked.

"I really don't think of it as letting go. We'll come back in fifty years or so, with new names and a new story. It's one of our favorite spots."

When I didn't comment immediately, Edythe continued. "I say that we should go straight to New Hampshire right away and get things set up. I already sent our applications to Dartmouth, and I doubt you will need all that much longer to be able to handle school." She turned to give me a teasing smile. "You'll likely ace your classes, you know. There's nothing interesting to do all night besides study."

I laughed. "Oh? Well, I can think of one thing that's just _slightly_ more interesting."

Edythe giggled. "Do tell me… Perhaps things such as driving off into the night to LA on some whim with Archie?"

I paused. "You knew about that?"

"You really have an overconfidence in my brother's abilities to keep his thoughts concealed."

"Oops…" I said. "Well, hey, like you always say. Sometimes you have to indulge."

A few weeks earlier, I'd been sitting in the main room when the sound of an unfamiliar engine came up the drive. I'd raced outside to see who it was, and a bright yellow Porsche screamed to a stop a few feet in front of me in the driveway. The word 'turbo' was scrawled in silver cursive across its back, and Archie was sitting contently in the driver's seat.

"Well are you going to get in or what?" Archie had called out.

Before he'd even told me what we were doing, we were already blazing back down the driveway. It turned out Archie had won some bet with Edythe, and she'd bought him this car. It was a Porsche 911 Turbo, capable of zero to sixty in less than four seconds, and topped out at 205. Of course, this had all been according to Archie. Immortality hadn't changed my woeful incompetence when it came to motor vehicles.

"Let's see if we can get this baby to LA and back before midnight!" he'd shouted over the roar of the engine.

And it did. With time to spare. Twelve-hundred miles, there and back again, in half a day. Of course, the speed was nothing compared to going on foot. But where was the fun in that?

I laughed at the memory. "Hey, I'd never seen LA before."

Edythe sighed. "Well, at least he has you to drag along with him everywhere, rather than me."

Then I wondered. "Just what _was_ this grand bet, exactly?"

Edythe looked smug. "That I could convince you to go to college."

"That's not much of a challenge," I shrugged. "All you had to do was say that you were going. But be serious… Dartmouth? Really? What's wrong with Peninsula Community College?"

"I _am_ serious," she said, folding her hands behind her head. "They have a full complement of night courses, and the forests are very conveniently located. Plentiful wildlife." She flashed that wicked smile she knew I couldn't resist.

I took a deep breath. "Edythe, I couldn't even if I wanted to. Ivy league tuition isn't a burden my college fund is ready to carry. And I'm not letting you pay that for me."

"I'll let you pay me back if that's what you want," she promised. "I'll even charge interest."

I scowled. I'd insisted on Peninsula or the University of Alaska if we had to go to school. I liked the idea of staying nearby. The cold wouldn't bother me now, and Carine's friends were in Alaska. But Edythe wouldn't budge on Dartmouth; it was one of her favorites. She hadn't been there for a long time. Besides that, she had just come from Alaska before the family had moved to Forks.

And sealed my fate for the rest of forever.

"Okay," I conceded. "Just how much money are we talking here?"

She bit her lip. "Just under fifty grand per year… for the undergraduate studies. The professional schools of medicine and business will be a little steeper."

Holy shit.

And still, I knew that Carine would send all six of us there without so much as a second thought.

It made me wonder just how well off Carine could possibly be… hundreds of years of the medical profession… plus a psychic managing all her stocks and investments.

"August thirteenth," Edythe murmured.

"What?"

"The wedding. Archie set the date. And he's already writing up the invitations… Little heathen."

Later than I thought. I was surprised.

"Why August thirteenth?" I asked.

"He wants as much preparation time as possible." She eyed me cautiously. "But it leaves enough time before most colleges start session."

Freaking Archie.

"You have to hand it to him. He's really committed to doing so much for you," she said.

The excitement of a new younger brother he never thought he'd have.

We were quiet for a moment. Sometimes it was easy to forget that the person I was in love with was a vampire. Not because she was ordinary. Not at all. But because when I held her in my arms, it was like holding an angel.

And when I should have been her prey, she made it seem like nothing at all to have her lips on my lips, my face, or even my throat. In the end, the fear of losing me cured her of any desire for my blood.

If that wasn't love, I don't know what is.

Our gazes were locked on each other. Her gold was so deep that I imagined her irises as the actual doors into heaven—the golden gateways. It was impossible for her to be considered something so abhorrent… a creature revered as a sadistic, murdering demon.

But I knew otherwise. Edythe Cullen had the most beautiful soul, human or non-human, even more beautiful than her glorious face or body.

She looked right back at me in the same way, like she was peering straight into the core of my soul. And I could tell she liked whatever she saw.


	5. OCCASION

2\. OCCASION

I was in my happy place, curled up on the bed with Edythe, intertwined as much as was physically possible. I never got over the shock of how perfect she was—white, cool, and polished like marble. I ran my hand over her collarbone now, tracing the bones underneath the skin, down her ribs, across the flat planes of her stomach, just marveling. I brought my hand up and it stops on her check. Her lips part for a second, and I lean closer. My lips came down on her glass-smooth lips, and her cold breath washed over my face. Both of our breathing started to pick up.

Suddenly, my mind was no longer in charge, and I have no idea what I'm doing. But I can't stop. She opened her mouth and kissed me even more intensely. I feel like I've been ignited. I brought my hand up to her face one more time before both my hands went to her hips.

She pulled back a little. "Beau," she breathed as soon as her lips were free.

All the sensations took over me. I pulled her hips closer to me and laid back. Edythe put her hands to my chest and climbed up onto my torso. I pulled my mouth away from hers and she whimpered from the loss of contact. But then I moved my mouth to her neck. She grabbed ahold of my hair for a split second.

Then she started to pull away. This was the usual outcome when things had gone too far. She'd gone most of her life rejecting any kind of physical gratification. Old habits died hard.

"Beau… stop," she whispered breathlessly. "Deal's a deal. You can wait one more day."

I don't stop. "It'll be fine," I said, kissing her again. "No need to be so old-fashioned."

I threw one leg up over her waist.

"Beau!"

"Shhhh."

She kissed me back, but I could tell she wasn't as into it as I was. She insisted that we were married first.

"I'm sorry. I'm pushy, aren't I? Must be the nerves," I sighed.

"Are your feet cold?" she asked.

"Not any colder than yours."

She gritted her teeth.

"What's wrong?"

"Apparently, Carine and Jessamine aren't letting me bow out tonight."

That's when I heard them at the door.

Jessamine started scraping her steel nails across the wood to make a horrible noise.

"If you don't send Edythe out," she said menacingly, "we're coming in after her! I hope you're decent!"

"Go," I laughed. "Before she breaks the door down."

She kissed me one more time as she got up from the bed.

"I'll meet you at the altar tomorrow," I said. "And don't make her late!" I called out to Jessamine.

"Don't worry, Beau. We'll have her back in plenty of time," she said once the door was open.

"What exactly are you ladies doing for this bachelorette party anyway? Going clubbing? Will there be strippers?"

"We have our own version," Edythe answered. "We'll _strip_ a few mountain lions, if that's what you mean. And maybe a few bears if we're lucky. Pretty much the usual night out."

She winked, and they disappeared from sight.

Now that I was alone with my thoughts, all I could think about was how it was going to be a very long day tomorrow. Thanks, Archie.

I knew that most of my worries about it were frivolous. Avoiding the attention was stupid. It was part of life. But there were other things that worried me.

The guest list was one concern. All these vampire friends I'd never met. Some of them weren't like us, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I didn't many good experiences with the typical sort of vampire.

Carine's friends from Denali would probably be the first to show up. Taran and his Russian brothers and the couple from Spain. They would be the easy part of the guest list, though Lauren, who'd once run with the woman who'd tried to murder me, would most likely be with them.

Apparently, Lauren had abandoned the traditional ways of the vampire. She'd found Taran and his family in Alaska, and taken a strong interest in his brother, Ivan.

The other fear that plagued me was that I'd never seen Taran before. And from what I'd heard about him, this probably wouldn't be a good experience for my ego. Because once upon a time, probably before I was even born, he'd made plenty of plays on Edythe.

But could I blame him?

Carine always talked about how she had never understood why Edythe had no interest in him. He was rumored to be just as striking as Royal. And though Edythe clearly preferred me, I wouldn't be able to help myself making comparisons.

There were five altogether: Taran, Kirill, Ivan, Calvin, and Elena—all bonded by their desire to live compassionately the way Carine did. This is supposedly what kept them docile enough to make a big coven like us.

Then there were the others who didn't live so humanely. It honestly surprised me that Carine had traditional vampire friends at all.

The small group was from Egypt, led by a woman named Ati, who was said to be ancient—the oldest vampire Carine knew. She and her husband, Kalil lived with two younger 'adopted' vampires. The couple had taken them in long ago, in a similar fashion to Carine's foster-parenting.

I didn't like the idea of having them so near Forks. What if they decided to grab a snack as they arrived? What if the Quileute wolves found out they were here?

I shuddered at the thought.

It was around midnight when I heard the footsteps coming up the stairs. There was a tap at the door a moment later.

The person I would have least expected to see tonight peeked his golden-haired head in the door.

Royal.

There were two reasons for my surprise. For one, Royal and Eleanor had been gone for months now. As soon as they'd 'graduated' Forks High School, they'd decided to take an extended vacation in Africa—a trip that I couldn't help but think was prompted by my sudden, unwelcomed presence in their lives.

Second, I'd never been Royal's favorite person. And surely those feelings hadn't subsided. He'd been the only 'no' vote in our meeting months ago. I'd already assumed that he would be absent for the wedding, though I hadn't really ever asked.

"Surprise, surprise," he said in his flat, deep voice.

"Royal," I breathed. "You're… back?"

"Yeah, I suppose I wasn't expecting to be here either."

"Eleanor made you come back," I sighed. "I'm sorry."

"No, this was actually my choice," he explained. "I mean, sure, El wanted to come…"

"Oh," I said incredulously.

"As much as I hate to admit, I guess my guilty conscious won over."

Royal felt guilty for not wanting to come to his sister's wedding? Since when was he not so self-absorbed as to care about anyone else's feelings?

"Would you mind if we had a bit of a talk for a minute?" he asked. He didn't sound irritated about anything, though. His voice was just inflectionless.

I was silent for a long moment. He wanted to _talk_ to me? About what? I don't even think he'd spoken one-on-one with me. Ever.

He hesitated in the doorway, and I saw that he wasn't looking at me. He was just glaring at himself in a mirror at the other side of the room. His face was unsure, like he was doubting if he should really be in here.

"Yeah, of course," I answered hesitantly.

"So I feel like I should come clean to you now, Beau… I have a bit of a confession to make. Did you know that Edythe wasn't the only one who planned to kill you at one time?" His voice was full of regret as he sat down slowly on the edge of the bed.

I laughed nervously. "Er, well… I mean, if looks could kill." I tried to joke. "To be honest, I was terrified every time I caught you glaring at me back then."

He didn't laugh. "It was the day of the parking lot incident."

Though ninety-nine percent of that life was now faded in a distant, dreamlike memory, I could almost clearly remember their faces the moment Edythe pulled me from the brink of death. Mostly I saw looks of scolding disapproval, except for Royal; his face had been furious as he'd glared balefully at Edythe.

"I wanted Edythe to fix the problem after what she'd done. But all she offered was to leave town, which wasn't enough. I felt that she needed to take full responsibility for her actions. And she was never going to leave if she believed any of us would touch you."

I couldn't make much sense of what he was saying. "What? Take responsibility? But it wasn't her fault."

"So many eyewitnesses… all the evidence. I couldn't allow the human to have the chance to say anything on top of all that," he admitted.

"Royal…" I interjected. "I really don't understand what I did to make you hate me so much."

Royal shook his head. "Hate." He laughed. "I realize how it might seem to you, that I haven't particularly liked you. But it was never personal, Beau. I knew that you were innocent. I never denied that you hadn't done anything wrong. Well, mostly… your blatant lack of respect for mortality was always annoying, to say the least. But the heart of the matter was that I only wanted what was best for protecting our family. I think you can understand that."

I nodded.

"You should thank Carine… and Archie, too."

I could picture them all having a meeting not too different from the one I'd held—sitting in the dining room debating whether I, the insignificant human, was too big a risk to allow. I knew that Carine would always be on the side of preserving life. And with Archie's advantages, he'd know that there was no need to make such a hasty decision.

Eleanor and Jessamine probably sided with Royal. It was just a feeling that I had. Earnest, I couldn't place anywhere. I imagined him choosing not to speak, refusing to have to take sides and divide the family.

"I think what Carine said to me was really what stopped me from shifting from plan to action. Of course… I should have known better. Carine never compromised."

"What did she—?"

" _I appreciate your intentions, Royal_ ," he recalled, mimicking Carine's motherly voice. " _But I would like very much for our family to be worth protecting. In the occasional accidents and lapses in control, I can look the other way. Those circumstances are just a regrettable matter of our nature. I will not tolerate the intentional murdering of an innocent child. Whether he speaks his suspicions or not, the damage will not be too great._ "

Carine was truly a saint. I couldn't imagine a better person, mortal or otherwise.

I controlled my expression very carefully, trying to sound convincing. "I don't hold anything against you for it, Royal. You were just doing what you thought was the most responsible thing."

Royal sighed. "No, I was being callous. I was mostly concerned with the fact that I like it so well here. There's so little sun, we can be almost _normal_. We'd just gotten settled. Who wants to start their sophomore year of high school all over again, right?"

"But you went along with Carine's decision."

"Because she's right. And when is Carine ever wrong?" he laughed. "If we make exceptions under the pretense that we're only looking out for ourselves, we risk something more important. We risk losing the essence of who we are—everything Carine created for us."

I could have applauded for Carine. If she had that kind of power over people with only the will of her good nature… to thwart someone like Royal no matter how infuriated he was with me. That was impressive.

"And Archie? You said I had him to thank as well?"

Royal couldn't help but chuckle to himself then. "Oh, Archie… You owe that kid a thousand times over, you know? There we were, in the midst of a controversy over what it meant to be a Cullen, and all Archie did was insist how much he would appreciate if I didn't kill you. At first, I thought it was only because he didn't want to see the inevitable fallout that would have happened between Edythe and me. Which was true, yes. But you were his _friend_ , so he claimed, despite the fact he hadn't even met you yet. He wouldn't shut up about how you two would one day be best friends. How he would soon love you like a brother."

"Wait, you're saying Archie already knew how things would turn out that far in advance? Edythe and I had hardly even spoken… Damn, he's good."

And I really had to hand it to him. Edythe was already far more than I deserved. But I had been graced with two more of the best people the world had.

"I think Archie played more of a role than you realize in moving you guys' relationship along as fast as it happened. That was when Edythe realized that a change was going to come. I don't think she knew until that moment that she wasn't going to be able to stay away from you, no matter how committed she was to not getting involved in your life. At that point, there were only two ways left for you. It was one or the other."

"So Archie saw her falling for the human," I said.

Royal rolled his eyes. "Classic Edythe…" He made a gagging sound.

I tried not to take offense.

"Then things _really_ started to get complicated. And as you can imagine, I was beyond irritated."

"Yeah, I think I noticed that."

I really didn't get it, though. I made my choices, Royal had his choices taken away. I knew that he didn't like what I'd decided. He would have chosen death without hesitation if he'd been given the option. But it wasn't my fault that things turned out the way they did for him. And he was entitled to his opinion, sure. But so was I. Why did he seem to feel the constant need to make me feel guilty for choosing this life?

I watched his face. I couldn't decide if his detached expression meant that he was ashamed for being so unwelcoming or if he was still disappointed that this was the outcome.

He looked back at me then. "I know she told you about me while you turned. How much of that do you remember? My story?"

"Oh… Um, I think I pretty much got the gist of it. She said what almost happened to me in Port Angeles, that's what happened to you. Some people tried to kill you… out of jealousy?"

He sighed. "Well, that's correct, though it's a lot more complicated than that," he said. "I think it's important that you understand where I'm coming from. I know it may not seem that way, but I do have my reasons for my bitterness. My story wasn't a happy ending. And neither is yours, though you may think otherwise."

I nodded, though I didn't agree. I'd save him the argument, though. We could agree to disagree.

"If any of us had happy endings, we'd all be under gravestones," he said coldly. I waited as he stared out the window. I could see him trying to calm himself as he fought back against memories that were too painful to bring to the forefront.

"There's more?" I asked.

He looked up at me and smiled, but it was a harsh, bitter expression. "Yes. A lot more." He stared out into the darkness again. His expression was far away.

There was a good minute of silence as he gathered himself. Then the words seemed to come flowing out of him with relative ease.

"We were fairly middle-class. My father was a banker. My mother kept up with the house and my two younger sisters and me. I really didn't understand it at the time, but I was always somewhat aware how unsatisfied they were. They wanted more. They had social aspirations. My outward appearance, being considered 'attractive', whatever the hell that means, was like a gift to them. They saw so much more potential in it than I did… They may not have been satisfied with life, but I was. I was thrilled to be Royal Hale, content with the way women's eyes watched me everywhere I went. Glad that other girls would sigh in envy anytime I paid attention to one of them in particular. Admiration was like air to me. Yes, I was silly, and vain, and so very shallow…" he laughed. "But I was pleased with myself."

"And the girl you were engaged to…" I recalled. "She was part of a wealthy family?"

"Yes, she was. She was most of what I wanted. And I knew exactly what I wanted out of life. I was going to be rich, and famous, and there didn't seem to be anything that would ever get in the way of what I wanted. It was a different time… I was just eighteen, but I was ready for it all; to be married, to have a nice house, and a wife to kiss when I came home…. and two and a half kids."

"What happened with the girl?"

"Rowena King." The name rolled off his tongue with disgust. "My parents approved of her. She seemed to be everything I'd dreamed of. If only I'd known of her infidelity…"

Royal broke off suddenly, clenching his teeth. And it pulled me out of the story. But I realized the horror must be coming. He'd said it wasn't a happy ending. And maybe I could see it. Unlike me, he already had everything he wanted in life, and then it was cut short.

"I was at a friend's place the last night of my life," he whispered. His face was smooth, hard as marble. "It was dark in the streets when I left. I was a few blocks from home when I heard them. The guy Rowena had been running around with, he and his gang were under a broken street lamp, laughing. Obviously drunk."

He imitated the voice I wasn't familiar with. " _Well, look who it is! Royal Hale!,_ one of them shouted. They all started laughing."

He paused again, and I didn't interrupt the silence.

"And… I won't make you sit through the rest," he said coldly. "They left me there in the street thinking I was dead. The last thing I remember was hearing them joke about how Rowena would have to find a new groom."

"Ugh, that must have been awful. I'm so sorry, Royal."

"Carine found me at some point in the night. She smelled all the blood. I can remember being so irritated as she'd walked over to me. I had never liked the doctor and her husband. And especially her sister."

So Royal must have already known them when he was human. I never realized that the story was different back then. I would have believed it. Carine and Edythe looked close enough in age.

"So you knew them?" I asked.

"They lived in Rochester in the thirties. It pissed me off how Edythe seemed to be the only girl in town who wouldn't even bat an eyelash at me. But I noticed how she didn't seem to mingle with society like a normal person, so it didn't bother me too long. Anyway, I thought I was surely dead when I was suddenly pulled from the ground. I was flying. I started slipping away as the pain dulled. Then there was something sharp… and the fire came next. You know the process from there. I just knew I had gone to hell. I screamed profanities at her for hurting me even more. I begged her to kill me, to make it stop. When Earnest and Edythe showed up, I begged them to kill me too. But no one seemed to care about what I wanted."

I winced at the painful memories of my own, and Royal closed his eyes tightly. The tension in his body built more and more as he spoke. I was about to tell him he didn't have to tell me the rest, but he continued.

"They just sat there and said they were sorry a thousand times, told me it would be over soon. You got the same rundown that I did: what they were, what I would become, what it would be like, etcetera… I refused to believe a word of it until it was over. And Edythe wasn't happy. I heard them discussing it while I burned. It made me even more furious that she was so vehemently opposed to what they were doing. I remember her asking Carine what they were going to do with me. It really hurt that she didn't want me around. But I got over that quickly, of course, when the pain was over and I saw myself for the first time. Shallow as I was, I was very pleased for a short moment amidst all the resentment. The thrill was short lived. Once I understood there was no going back to anything I knew, it didn't matter."

He hesitated again like he'd forgotten I wasn't there. So he was jealous? Of me? Because Edythe didn't want him that way? I couldn't fathom that.

"You know, my record is almost as clean as Carine's. I've never tasted human blood. I've always despised the thought of it."

"Almost?" I questioned.

"When I told you that I almost tried to kill you, I forgot to mention that you weren't going to be the first. I'm quite the proficient assassin. My body count is seven, in case you were wondering. That jackass and all his lackeys got what was coming to them. Although, you might say I got a little carried away…"

I cringed at the thought. I was imagining facing newborn Royal, with the blood red eyes. I probably would have died of a heart attack before he could even touch me.

"Actually, I forgot the two bodyguards. That makes nine…" He muttered this to himself like we were discussing something trivial. Then his face went smug. "You should have seen the look on their faces when I walked straight through their gunfire unfazed. I saved ole Ronald for last to make sure he knew I was coming for him. Then I left Rowena a little _gift_."

I stared at him, waiting. "Do I want to know?"

"I dropped the broken body of her lover at her doorstep. And I left it at that."

Royal sounded really pleased with himself.

All I could manage was a quiet, "oh…"

I decided it was time to change the subject. "But what I don't understand is… why the strong reaction to me? Did I _do_ something?"

Royal chuckled. "You might take this as a surprise, but my initial reaction, before all the family drama, was that I was upset she wanted you after never having wanted me."

That brought me up short. "Wait, what? What about Eleanor?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, Beau. I didn't actually want Edythe that way. I never did. It was just that she was the only girl _ever_ who wasn't attracted to me. It was unbelievably frustrating. But all that time I'd come to terms with it because I decided long ago she was just weird and would never want anyone that way. Then you came along…"

So he was jealous of _me_ … in some way.

"You shouldn't take it as an insult. I'm not implying you aren't attractive," he said, misreading the expression on my face. "It didn't matter what you looked like. It's just that she found someone to be more appealing than me, and I'm vain enough that I cared." He gave a guilty laugh.

I couldn't help but laugh along with him at how ridiculous it sounded. It was like the champion of masculine beauty was jealous of the average, skinny kid.

"But, Beau, can't you see it? You had your whole life ahead of you. You had everything I ever wanted. And you willingly stepped away from it all. You threw it all away. That day I decided I couldn't kill you, I knew from that moment how this was going to end. I wished so badly that I could have traded places with you right there at that moment. I could have gone on living a normal life without becoming…. this." He gestured to himself, sickened.

I looked at him, bewildered. I'd never thought of it like that before.

"Of course I wanted all of those human things, Royal. But I also wanted her. And it wasn't something I could reconcile. I had to choose one over the other, and more than anything I wanted to be with her. Don't you understand that? I mean, you have Eleanor now. Isn't it the same?"

He exhaled slowly, staring into the mirror on the wall again.

"Yes. I'm extremely fortunate to have found Eleanor. Though, I definitely didn't deserve her. She's everything I could have asked for. She's everything I needed in my human life. But that's just it. I afflicted her with the same curse, all for my own selfish fulfillment. And there will never be more than just the two of us. There will never be us, sitting grey-haired on a porch somewhere, watching our grandchildren play. What I wouldn't give to take it all back—to grow up as an old man with an old wife laughing at old jokes from a wild youth, a normal, _human_ youth. There's so much to give up when you become what we are…" he trailed off.

My counter came quickly. "Yeah, but maybe you should consider what you gain in return. I see it as more of a trade. There's no more weakness, no more flaws, no growing old and feeble, no sickness or disease… Everything gets perfected in the most glorious way."

"That's where you're wrong," he laughed. "This in itself is a disease. For us, the disease is immortality."

I shook my head. "It's hard for me to think of it as such. I've never felt more joy. I've been given infinite life."

"You don't get it, Beau. Living with those limitations you mentioned is precisely what gives life meaning. Life's meaning derives from the challenges we face. You may not see it that way right now, but as time progresses you'll begin to realize what I'm talking about. There comes a point where you run out of things you could possibly find to be worth doing because you have infinite time."

"I don't know… I think it just comes down to perspective. I'll gladly take this as my happy ending."

"Oh, Beau…" He started to laugh again. "Haven't you learned? Happy endings are just stories that aren't over yet. Ever heard of Murphy's law? Something always lurks in the darkness. Death catches up with us all in the end. Some of us just merely have a slowing of the natural pace."

Pessimistic much? The way he phrased his words thwarted any answer I could come up with. I shook my head with an intentional stubbornness.

"Well, thanks for coming and talking to me, Royal. I guess I understand you better now. It's nice to get to know you more."

He shook his head in guilt. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Beau. I really do apologize for being such an asshole. I promise to try and do better. I'll be on my best behavior."

I nodded. We weren't friends quite yet, but at least I knew he didn't hate me.

I spent the whole night alone, thinking about it all. In just a few hours I'd no longer be Beau Swan. I'd decided to do what Earnest had done and taken _her_ name.

Beaufort _Cullen_ … Or maybe I'd finally excise that suffix once and for all and just be Beau. I'd always liked the idea of that.

I was already Beau Cullen on the passport and driver's license that were made for me. My death, or as it looked according to the government, necessitated the start of forging fake documents.

When I decided it was time to get moving, I went out into the main hall, searching for my soon-to-be brother. Rather than simply call out for him, I put my new senses to good use, following his scent from room to room.

This morning, his short black hair was sleeker and shinier than usual. He normally didn't add anything to it, but I guess he'd used some sort of hair product.

As if anyone in this family needed enhancements to their appearance.

"Hey, I was just about to come find you! Get in here." He dragged me into his room.

"Okay, Archie, work your magic. If I'm going to have to stand next to Edythe and make people actually believe we're together, you're going to have to pull off a miracle."

Archie laughed. "Don't be modest, Beau. Immortality really suits you. Trust me, you were born for this."

"I don't think anyone expects me to be impressive," I said. "We'll leave that up to what you do with Edythe."

"Beau, you're going to look just as good as my sister will. Believe me. I know you like to think you two are mismatched in a way, but no one is going to be thinking that today, not that they ever have…"

"So, have you seen where she's going to take me?" I pried.

"Of course, I have. Am I going to tell you? Not a chance."

"But if I don't know where we're going, how will I know what sort of things to pack?"

"Don't worry about that."

I thought about that, realizing what he meant. I rolled my head back. "Archie, you didn't!"

He let out a guilty laugh.

"I really wish you'd let me pack my own things," I grumbled.

"Oh come on, Beau. That old stuff you used to wear all the time, it wasn't the most—"

"Hey! No knocking my wardrobe."

"As my brother, you'll have to get over your aversion to fashion. I mean, at least try not to be so… high school."

I changed the subject. "Will I get to see what you'll do with her? You know, beforehand?" I wondered.

"Oh, it's already done. And like I told you, we're doing things the traditional way."f

I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. "Traditional", I laughed.

Archie rolled his eyes. "Okay, aside from the whole vampire wedding thing."

"So what am _I_ wearing? Or are you keeping that a secret, too?"

"Traditional as well. You know, men's fashion hasn't changed much in the past hundred years. But the tux is very nineteen-twenties-inspired," he told me.

He darted over to his massive closet. I could hear him digging around in there. From the way the sound echoed, I could sense the sheer volume of stuff in that closet. Did he keep clothes for the whole family in there?

He emerged a few seconds later with the tux. It was a standard black and white suit, with a small white bowtie. I sighed with relief.

"What? You don't like it?" His face was disappointed.

"No, it's fine. It's just that, well, you can imagine I was half expecting something crazy."

"All the other guys will wear black ties. You'll be the only one with the white bowtie."

"Because the others need to be able to tell which one is me?" I said sarcastically.

"Actually, as I said before, you really do blend with us now more than you think. You're probably not that far off base with that statement. Besides, the others have never seen you before."

I should have known better with Archie. It wasn't good enough to simply put on the suit that looked like it was worth more than my college fund, no…

"Go to your happy place, Beau. This won't take long."

It took what seemed like hours.

I'd stood with my eyes closed, holding my arms straight out while I felt the slip and slide of fabric and pins and tape measures over my skin. It felt like so long that I might petrify and turn into stone.

After feeling the prick of a pin for the hundredth time, I sighed. "You know, it's a good thing I'm no longer human or I'd be bleeding to death by now."

"Thirty more seconds, Beau. Your patience will be rewarded. No peeking!"

"I think you're wasting your time, Arch. I look like an idiot in these monkey suits."

Archie scoffed. "No one dressed by me _ever_ looks like an idiot."

I tapped my foot to the beat of each passing second. Just as I got to thirty, Archie said, "Okay… Ta da!"

I peeked with caution. And Archie was right.

"Oh!" I huffed. "Wow, Archie, I look…"

"I was thinking _debonair_ ," he said. "Which means you look hot, in case you didn't know."

I would have blushed. He took my elbow and spun me around in front of the mirror, showcasing the tux.

"Damn, dude…" I stared at the unusually elegant version of me in the mirror. The suit looked like it was made for me. I'd never fit so well in something before.

"You're welcome." His grin was smug. "Now, if you'll excuse me, the only one left to dress is myself."

He disappeared into the closet again.

"Okay, so the guests… Alaska and Egypt, I heard, but anyone else? What about those old friends of Carine? The Italian ones."

"Who?" Archie called from deep within the abyss.

"The one's in the painting in Carine's study."

I faintly remembered that most vivid painting from Carine's time in Italy. I remembered the trio, two women and a man, each with exquisite faces, painted onto a high balcony where they looked down below upon the people passing by in the street. Though the painting was hundreds of years old, the blond angel standing off to the side, Carine, remained unchanged.

I heard Archie make an exasperated sound. "The Volturi don't socialize."

"What's a Volturi?"

Archie reappeared holding a garment bag. "That's the name of the royal family."

"What makes them so different? I thought they were peaceful like us."

"They are," he explained as he dressed in his tux. "They're the largest coven of vampires in existence. I suspect it's their age that enables them to live so peacefully together. They are well over three thousand years old. Or maybe it's the love of power. Royalty is the best description I can give. They stay in their city, leaving only as duty calls."

I took a deep breath. "Oh… That sounds serious. But if there are only the four of them—"

"Those are only the leaders you saw in the painting. They have a guard… nine members who are permanent, the last time we heard. And others who are more transitory. It changes. Most of them are gifted in ways that make what I do look like a circus trick. They have formidable gifts that the Volturi chose them for, physical or otherwise."

"But aren't they supposed to be the punishers? Wouldn't they need to leave to punish offenders?"

"No, it's really the guard who do all the dirty work. Sulpicia, Athenodora, Marcus… they haven't left Volterra in hundreds of years. And even then, the circumstances had to be fairly extreme."

"What would be considered an extreme circumstance?" I asked him out of curiosity. The only 'law' I knew about was the secrecy. There was something more?

"I'm really not sure. A lot more excitement happened before my time, back in the dark ages. All I know is what I've learned from Jessamine. The Volturi last came to America during the Civil War. That was a terrible time. Things got so out of hand. Jessamine was involved in all of that mess, remember?"

"Yes, I do vaguely remember. Did she meet them?"

"No. Only Carine has seen them. And so have our friends in Denali. Not that I think you would bring it up, but the Volturi are a very touchy subject for Taran and the others." He glanced at me, waiting for my reaction.

I raised my eyebrows.

"You don't want to piss off the Volturi…" he said eerily, like he was telling a scary story. "Not unless you want to die, of course. A long time ago, when it was just Taran and his two brothers, their creator still lived with them, sort of like a father figure. I guess you could say he was what Carine is to us. It was back when the world was a very different place from what we know now. The Volturi executed Santiago."

I was taken back by the sudden turn of events. "What did he do?"

"There aren't many rules outside of the secret. But what Santiago did had been declared a highly detestable sin of the vampire world. Something so taboo that no one since has dared try it."

Archie was definitely trying to turn this into a scary story. And it was probably something of the nature Edythe wouldn't want me hearing about. So I pressed on, naturally.

The corners of my mouth tilted up in a smirk. "Do I want to know?"

"It's a bit disturbing, actually. I'm sure Edythe would never bring it up with you," he warned me. "She has always sheltered you, in a way, from the monsters in this world."

"What did he do? Did he turn too many people or something?" I was genuinely interested in this now since I'd apparently never hear it from Edythe.

"There aren't any limitations on that, per se… However, there are restrictions on _who_ you make immortal. The time of the immortal children was like a plague in our history. What those ancient ones were thinking, I will never understand. They envenomed children who were barely old enough to walk and talk."

I'd never thought of anything like that. "Like vampire kids? Why?"

"Who knows? Taran and his brothers didn't even know Santiago had done it. The child had been hidden from them for years. Otherwise, the Volturi would have killed all of them as well; guilt by association." He looked away blankly.

"Oh, I mean, Edythe says we can't have children of our own. I don't really have the desire to be afflicted by parenthood, but I can see where some might go to such lengths."

"They were very beautiful", Archie explained. "Apparently, they were so enchanting you just had to be near them to love them."

"So what was the big deal? Why did the Volturi care?" I asked.

"Just think about it for a minute. The same conditions of immortality apply even to children. We are stuck where we are developmentally for eternity. A child would remain a child forever, physically and mentally. It would never mature in any way. Besides the ethical issues, you could see where the problems would arise," he explained.

"They're uncontrollable," I answered, fitting it together in my head. I pictured a small child going through what I had gone through. I remembered what it was like this first time I'd smelled human blood, and how much harder it would have been if I was any less mentally capable of resisting."

"Exactly. Imagine what a little kid's temper tantrum would look like accompanied by our speed and strength."

I shuddered. I wasn't even particularly fond of the human variety; they always seemed to have some sort of fluid leaking from their noses or elsewhere.

Archie continued. "Legend has it, Santiago's little creation slaughtered an entire village over a small upset."

"Yeah, I can see the problem now. That's crazy. Way too conspicuous," I said.

"Of course. That's sort of the central dogma of it all, it seems. The Volturi never want us to bring any outside attention to our killings. All of our rules are an extension of that. It all revolves around remaining as obscure as possible. So I cannot fathom Taran's father's reasons… The Volturi had studied the immortal children many years before that, and in the end, decided how incapable children were of protecting the secret. So they were forbidden."

I stood there thinking about all of this as Archie finished making sure his outfit fit perfectly.

"And I can't imagine the emotional trauma Taran and Kirill and Ivan had to go through, watching their father and the child burn right before their eyes. They're very lucky Santiago kept the child a secret. But there are so many questions that were never answered. Why did he do it in the first place? Where did the little girl come from, and what had she meant to him to cause him to cross such a line? No one will ever know. It must be so strange… I know that they have never forgiven what their father did, but they still live in mourning. They never speak of him to this day. They don't even think about him willingly. But the ordeal has left them with a very healthy respect for the law."

I understood the importance of that law myself… and that it was definitely wrong to do what Santiago had done. But I just couldn't imagine killing a little kid, human or not… These Volturi must be very impassive about their punishing. I know I'd never be able to do what they have to do.

Archie sat me down then in front of the mirror and started messing with my hair, trying to style it. For someone who didn't have much hair, I was surprised that he seemed to be an expert in hair care.

As soon as Archie had me ready to go, Carine appeared, looking more beautiful than I'd ever imagined.

"Don't trip", Archie teased as he wobbled unsteadily, mimicking my old lack of balance. "We don't have time for a concussion today."

I couldn't help but laugh. "See you on the other side, brother."

Rather than simply walk out of the room, Carine led me out of the second-story window down to the ground. She explained how we couldn't walk through the hall without running into Edythe.

We walked back into the house downstairs. There the open living room had been lavishly decorated with what seemed like millions of flowers hanging draped over literally everything. Archie and Earnest ought to be wedding planners.

There were no seats; this was a ceremony for those who could stay standing indefinitely. There were ten of them in our small audience: six from Alaska, four from Egypt. They all looked like angels.

What an introduction to my first unfamiliar vampires.

I was almost embarrassed to look at them, but they were all so striking that I couldn't help but stare. It was my usual reaction to seeing our kind.

I immediately recognized the familiar hue of gold that mirrored the mutual choice of the Cullen family in the eyes of Taran's family. Even Lauren, who stood holding hands with one of the fair-haired brothers, had changed in this small way. Her eyes were a muted auburn color, the same way mine had looked for the first several months, where the gold slowly diluted away the red.

In contrast, the Egyptians had those striking, deep red eyes that I had only ever seen in Joss' coven previously. It still surprised me that Carine was able to maintain friendships with others who didn't share in her same vision. I supposed this was why she didn't hang around them very often, since they would be hunting nearby.

I wondered if they smelled differently because of their diet, but the room was entirely masked by the smell of a million flowers. Carine gestured for me to step up to the front of the elaborate altar. Archie appeared then, taking his place at my left.

Royal, being the next best musician in the family, started to play the piano in the back of the wide room. The song was faintly familiar, and it took me a second to pull it from my human memories. The sound of _Unchained Melody_ filled the room, slowed down to a melodramatic march

"Are you ready?" Carine asked.

I nodded tentatively.

A few moments later, the tempo of the song started to pick up into a confident cadence. And if my heart were still beating, it surely would have begun to explode out of my chest now.

First, the bridesmaids, Jessamine and Eleanor, appeared at the top of the stairs. They walked down to us at a human pace, each holding a bouquet of flowers. But rather than a family wedding, this looked more like a fashion show. They were both dressed in a way that was far more elegant than I'd ever seen them before. I never knew Eleanor could look so feminine.

I could hear the whispers and rustling in the small audience as Edythe came first into their view at the top of the long staircase. My eyes widened seconds later when I saw the long, flowing, beautiful white dress.

Goddamn, Archie was talented.

It was like seeing an angel for the first time. My long-eyed angel who couldn't possibly exist.

She was so mesmerizingly beautiful, I doubted anyone in the history of this world had ever looked like this. Her perfect smile was huge as her eyes lifted up from beneath her thick lashes to meet my gazes. And she looked at me as if she were coming forward to claim the multi-millions lottery or something, like _I_ was the prize and not the outrageously lucky winner. She walked hand-in-hand with Earnest down the never-ending staircase, through the profusion of white blossoms.

At that point, I was barely aware that anyone else was in the room with us. All I could really see was her face. It overwhelmed the entire depths of my mind. Her eyes were that magnificent burning topaz, and she wore a breathtaking smile, severe with the depth of her emotion. The most glorious, pleasant warmth spread through every fiber of my being. There wasn't a drug on this earth that could match this sort of euphoria.

Then it was all I could manage to hold still. I had to use all my willpower to restrain myself from breaking into a run to meet her halfway. The march was so slow. Far too slow…

Much sooner than was necessary, I reached out my hand for her. After a few more long and agonizing steps, Earnest took Edythe's hand and placed it in mine. I touched the smooth miracle of her skin that now felt the same as mine, and I was home.

Carine, who was technically a pastor's daughter, was the most qualified person to perform this vampire ceremony. She told us to repeat those same simple, traditional words that had been recited a million times. The only difference was that we changed the 'till death do us part' bit to the more-appropriate, 'until the end of time.'

And I swear, in that moment, my world that had never been quite right seemed to fall into place. After all, it's not every day you can find someone to bear your soul to. I'd given up so much already to have this, yet I couldn't think of anything more I wouldn't give.

I looked into her brilliant eyes that I'm sure would have held tears, had they been capable of crying, and knew that nothing else mattered but the fact she was mine and I was hers _forever_.

Edythe wasn't the winner. I was.

I was so distracted by the intensity of the moment that I almost missed the end of her vows entirely.

"I do," I said in the most absolutely sure voice I'd ever spoken with. I'd never been more certain about anything. "Forever and always."

When it was her turn to speak, the words rang out clear and triumphant.

"I do."

I reached down to caress her perfect face as if she were delicate like the bright white petals above our heads. I leaned forward into her, and she stretched up to meet me, throwing her arms around my neck.

Again, the onlookers seemed to disappear as I my lips found hers, and I never wanted to let go. It was frustrating to me that there was no possible way to get closer to her, to lessen the minuscule space between us further. I wanted to stay locked in this embrace forever.

Our friends and family started to applaud, and the sound continued for a minute before dying down. It took a few seconds more to realize that we weren't alone, and that it probably wouldn't be polite to make them wait for hours.

When the throat clearing began among them, our laughter broke the kiss, and Edythe pulled back away from me with an amused smirk. But still, I couldn't look away from her face to see any of them.

We held each other there blissfully in this small but perfect piece of our forever.


	6. ECLIPSED

3\. ECLIPSED

Twilight was just starting to settle over the river. The way Archie had perfectly timed everything meant the reception party was starting just as the cool August evening was upon us. As I led Edythe through the back glass doors, we found ourselves surrounded by another ten thousand flowers out draped from the two ancient cedars. The lawn glowed in an orange light, illuminated by dozens of strings of decorative lights.

Outside, I held my breath as the Denali clan came to greet us. I realized my jaw was practically drooping to the ground when I saw the guy leading the group. He was the tallest of the three brothers who looked so similar. His wavy, strawberry blonde hair was slicked back and down his neck, not quite as grown-out as Royal's. It made me wish idly that I'd let my hair grow longer; only then could I even approach looking so dignified.

But what disturbed me was how stupid-good looking Taran was. This face was the very definition of masculine beauty—one that only Royal could even hold a candle to. There was seriously something wrong with Edythe if she had turned _this_ down. Though she had clearly chosen me, it still made me mad with envy in some selfish way.

Behind mister male model, the other golden-eyed immortals stared curiously at us. The shortest of the three brothers stood next to Lauren. Ivan, I assumed. I deduced that the third was Kirill, who had straight, light blond hair that flowed freely down his back. He was brawny, almost as thick as Royal, and it was almost intimidating.

Two others looked totally different. Their black hair and slightly olive-toned skin easily set them apart from the brothers. Elena and Calvin. And of course, all five of them were so stunning together like this, it reminded me of that first time I saw the Cullens, how I couldn't help but stare sickened at their flawless beauty.

"Edythe," Taran said. "I've definitely missed you."

Edythe laughed lightly and placed her hand on his shoulder as he stepped back. "It hasn't been so long, Taran. You look well."

"And so do you, as always."

I couldn't help but clench my jaw at that comment. I stepped closer to Edythe.

"It's a pleasure to finally be able to introduce you to B—" She paused to correct herself. "My _husband._ "

It was strange, my first time hearing Edythe call me that, and she looked as if she would explode from the satisfaction it brought her.

They all laughed at her enthusiasm in response.

"Beau, meet our cousins."

"Welcome to the family, Beau." Taran smiled as he reached out for my hand. "We think of ourselves as Carine's extended family, which is probably hard to believe since this is our first time coming around in a few years. We should have met you sooner! I'm glad to see all the Cullens are matched up now. Maybe it will be our turn next, huh, Kirill?"

"Keep the dream alive," said the longer-haired man, rolling his golden eyes. He took my hand and shook firmly. "Nice to meet you, Beau. I'm Kirill."

The dark-haired Spanish man let go of the woman's hand and placed it in mine. "I'm Calvin, and this is my wife Elena," he said, gesturing to the small but athletic-looking woman next to him. Calvin had the slightest hint of a Spanish accent. "We are pleased to have a new Cullen join the family."

"Ivan," the third man said, walking over to us. "And I believe you already know Lauren."

I looked ruefully at Lauren, the most civilized member of Joss's coven. Her eyes looked resentful. But I couldn't help but wonder if she would have been involved in the chase, had I not been protected by a much larger coven. Because I'm sure that at the time, if I had been alone, she wouldn't have had anything against making a meal of me. An irrational fear crept through me.

Lauren sighed. "Oh, Edythe, Beau…" she said in her French accent. "I cannot imagine what Joss put you through. I extend my sincerest apologies to both of you. Please know that I had begged her to let it go, but there was nothing I could do in the way of stopping her."

"It's really alright," I said, trying to sound convincing. "And I'm sorry you had to lose a friend."

"No, no… Joss finally got what was coming to her. I completely agree with you. You only did what you had to do. I was considering breaking off from her soon anyway. She was a little bit much for me. Besides, I've found a much better home. Thank you all for pointing me in his direction." She looked at Ivan now in a way I imagined I always looked at Edythe.

"I can see you've tried the new lifestyle," Edythe said, diverting from the awkward conversation.

Lauren smiled. "Yes, indeed. It was so strange at first, but I've managed to stay… _sober_ for two months now." We all laughed. "I do enjoy the advantages; I've never stayed in one place for so long. The restrictions, however, are quite difficult. I don't know how any of you manage not to cheat every so often."

"We all owe it to Carine," Taran said. "She's changed all our lives for the better."

Lauren glanced across the expanse of the green lawn to Carine. "So Edythe, what made your mother decide to live like this anyway? It never would have crossed my mind, to think to feed on animals."

Edythe smiled. "Well, unlike the majority of us, Carine knew of our kind while she was human. She knew what she would become. I don't fully understand it myself, how she had the restraint to never feed… but I guess she's sort of circumvented the system in a way," she laughed.

"How so?" Lauren asked curiously.

"She likes to think of what we are as a sort of blessing with a curse. Everything is heightened, perfected in every way. But eternal life comes at the cost of taking life from others." She paused, then she laughed. "I guess she found a way to cheat the curse. It's her means of defying whatever force created this state of being."

I loved it when Edythe spoke about things like this. Her philosophies were always so intriguing. It reminded me of the time I'd asked her about the origin of vampires. Edythe had mentioned she believed that the force that created the human race was also likely responsible for creating our kind. It was the ultimate conundrum to me. And yet, the humans thought _their_ origin was a mystery.

"Well, we've all been changed for the better. We owe it to Carine," Lauren said thankfully.

Then the question popped into my head. "Did Victor ever find you?"

Victor, who had hunted me with Joss and then disappeared, still felt like a threat to me. I couldn't be sure how strongly he had been attached to Joss, but I knew that he was surely unhappy with us.

"Yes," Lauren answered. "I actually came here as a favor to Victor, you see. He won't be happy about this…"

Edythe tensed.

Lauren was oblivious to her reaction. "In a way, I do feel sorry for dear Victor. He was so angry with you. He asked me to get the lay of the land for him, so to speak. He didn't imagine that you would be turned, that you wouldn't be so easy to get to, even without your protectors. Apparently, his plan is flawed. He won't get the revenge he imagined."

"I suppose he'll be angry all the same," Edythe said icily.

Taran attempted to change the awkward subject. "So Beau, I anticipate we'll be getting to know each other. We're going to have _loads_ of time for that, after all." He laughed as he patted me on the shoulder. Then his family moved over to visit with Carine and Earnest.

After everyone had their share of harmonious reunion with one another, some started to present their brief congratulations to us in front of the small gathering.

Carine was the first to speak. "Let us gladly welcome my newest son to the family. Beau, you've changed our family in so many ways for the better. I can't express my gratitude for the happiness you've brought in Edythe's life."

"We will cherish this evening forever," Earnest said. "And we owe our sincerest grace to Beau's parents, who can no longer be with him, for bringing such a wonderful person into our lives. If only they could know how we will love and protect him as our own child forever."

My new siblings were next. My number-one fan eagerly jumped in after Earnest.

"Sure, Edythe has her other half now," Archie said gleefully. "But more importantly, I finally got the little brother I always wanted. That being said, Beau, now that you're my brother, I hope you're willing to say goodbye to you aversion of fashion."

Everyone laughed along with Archie.

"He isn't kidding. And please bring my sister back to us eventually," Jessamine added. "Don't keep her away too long."

Royal didn't speak, though he stood hand in hand with Eleanor as she gave the last salutation. "I hope you got enough sleep in those seventeen years… 'cause you won't be getting anymore for a while." She winked suggestively.

I could have died of embarrassment.

I think of all the gratitude and sincere expressions of love and joy, and something makes me shift. Something makes me brave. To my surprise, I felt no fear at all as I decidedly stood there in front of the small crowd.

Because saying anything about Edythe was worth saying to anyone—proclaiming to the entire world. In fact, I actually felt _eager_ to share the way I felt about her.

"So I guess this is my toast, of sorts, to my lovely bride," I began, smiling as I held my hand up towards her. "As many of you may have noticed, I've always felt as though I was out of step. Like I was literally stumbling through life. Not once did I ever think of myself as normal… not even close. But now I know. I'm not normal. And I don't ever want to be."

I paused to look only at Edythe now. "In just a short few months, I've been faced with death… so much pain… and loss in your world. But at the same time, I've never felt more real, more alive. I've never felt stronger or better. And I know beyond the shadow of a doubt, that this is where I belong. Because now it's my world, too, Edythe. I didn't belong anywhere in this whole wide, wicked world except right here with you."

Edythe ran up to me, throwing her arms around my neck. And I could have sworn it looked like tears were coming from her eyes.

I went on. "But despite all of this… and what we are… Let's pretend it's 1918. I still like to think we'd be here. Because I would be that guy. The guy who would have, as soon as he'd discovered you were what he was looking for, would have gotten down on one knee, endeavored to secure your hand forever. I still would have wanted you for eternity, even if the word didn't hold quite the same meaning. So don't be sad for that guy despite the fact that's not the way things turned out. He's happy just the same. Today, he can finally begin. And I promise to tie myself to you in every way possible, and love you… for every moment of forever."

They all burst out into applause and cheers. Edythe wrapped herself around me even tighter. I brought my lips down to hers, and when the cheering died down she took a step back, still holding onto my arms. Her eyes never left mine as she spoke.

"I speak not to just my husband, but to all of you. It's a _magnificent_ thing… something we don't have the words to describe, to meet someone whom you can bear your entire soul to, and accept you for what you are. I've waited over eighty years to get beyond what I am, and to accept myself. When I first knew I'd never be able to stay away from you, there were three things I knew for certain. First, I knew that you were a human, while I obviously was not; it was something I believed I'd never be able to reconcile. Second, there was a part of me that thirsted for your blood, a part that very well could have won against my feelings for you. But third and most importantly… I knew that I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with you. And now, Beau I _finally_ feel like I can begin as well… not only to love you even more, but to love myself. So I would like to propose this to you, my love… No measure of time with you will be long enough, but let's start with forever."

"I think I can accept that," I agreed. And I think I smiled wider than I had ever smiled before in my entire life. We slammed into each other again in the heat of it, and I lifted her up by the waist, bringing her face up to mine. There was applause again.

Later when Royal began playing softly at the piano again, I stopped and looked at Edythe and pulled her into my arms for the first dance. I went willingly, no longer insecure about things like this. I didn't even care we had an audience. I was just happy to have her with me. We shared in the effort as we twirled gracefully under the glow of the lights hung in the trees.

"Enjoying the party, Mister Cullen?" she whispered to me.

I laughed. "That's going to take a while to get used to."

"We have all the time in the world," she reminded me exultantly as she buried her face into my chest.

"What is it?" she asked as I stared intensely at her.

"Okay, don't tell me you don't realize how utterly, heartbreakingly beautiful you are tonight. I bet Taran was probably having inappropriate thoughts about a married woman. Am I wrong?" I smiled.

"Wildly inappropriate," she laughed. "But you're a little bit biased, you know."

I spun her around to the wall of glass and pointed at the angel in the reflection. "Just look at that! C'mon, everyone sees the same thing I do. I know you know that." I tapped my temples.

I gazed at the perfect duplicate form in the reflection. Her skin was a lavish cream, and her eyes were massive with excitement, framed by her thick lashes. The sheath of the glimmering white dress flared out subtly at the bottom. It was cut so skillfully it perfectly complimented her graceful figure.

And still, I wasn't used to seeing the person standing next to her. He filled the shape of me, but the details were somehow different than I always expected. His dark brown hair was full and straight. He had a wide forehead with a widow's peak, wideset eyes, prominent cheekbones, and then a thin nose and a narrow jaw with a pointed chin.

There were other things though that I still recognized. The things that made me _me_. His lips were a little out of proportion, a bit too full for his slim face. His eyebrows were strangely darker than his hair. He was tall and slender. Slightly lanky.

"You know what I do see?" she asked as she looked up at me in the reflection. "Remember the time I told you that I not only found you delicious, but beautiful? That's still true, but in a different way now. I see a girl who can't wrap her mind around the fact that this boy is hers. I think you were very aptly named, Beau, as it begins the word that describes you. _Beautiful_. Ever thought about a career in modeling?" she teased.

I laughed. "No one is going to think I'm beautiful with you hanging around. And besides, I think that would be cheating a little, don't you?"

"Like attending high school and performing well isn't?"

It's funny because she described the plight of our relationship exactly how I would have described it the other way around. I'm not sure how long we remained there like that under the fluttering petals of the garlands. It was a moment to revel in forever.

"Hey, you're monopolizing the groom," Eleanor said as she came up behind us. "Do I get a dance with my younger brother?" She laughed loudly. As it turned out, there were many people we'd yet to dance with. This gave me time to recompose myself while I anticipated what was to come next.

Archie interrupted us just moments later.

"Beau, it's almost time!" he said as he approached.

"Thank you, Archie," I said. "I don't know much about weddings, but I'm pretty sure this is the most amazing one anyone has ever had. You and your sisters should really go into wedding planning." We both laughed.

Edythe and I said our goodbyes to everyone who came.

All the guests made an aisle for us as we made our escape. I ran ahead and turned around in time for Edythe to spring into the air. I caught her and held her up above me, weightless. We spun around, and she sank down onto my back. I was the one doing the carrying this time, no longer the gorilla on the greyhound.

I leaped to the edge of the driveway next to our new car, a wedding gift from Carine, and opened the door. The others clapped as I got in the driver's seat, speeding us away down the long drive, into the next chapter of forever.

Edythe said I should stop to refuel halfway to the airport. I moved as if I were in a race when I got out of the eye-popping Mercedes. I got the cap off, the card scanned, and the nozzle in within a second. But there was no way to make the numbers on the gauge pick up their pace. I wasn't in a hurry to get to the airport. It was just that I didn't feel like drawing attention to us, and I felt out of place standing next to this luxury car.

There wasn't much light; it was a typical, rainy night in Washington, but I felt as if the car I stood next to was a neon sign that read: _Look at me, look at me!_

I guess it was stupid to be self-conscious about it. People weren't going to be judging me for it. They'd be impressed. But still, it made me uncomfortable to draw attention to someone when everything about him screamed vampire, as if the humans could make that conclusion.

"Uh, excuse me, sir?" a girl's voice said.

Here we go…

I turned, and two girls were outside of their car at the pump next to mine.

"Sorry to be nosy, but… is that a Mercedes _Guardian_?"

Personally, I didn't get it. It was just another shiny black car to me.

"Yeah, I believe so."

"Wow… They're not even supposed to be available in America yet. How did you—"

The pump clicked off.

"Sorry. I'm in a hurry," I said as I hung up the nozzle, trying to look down.

I got back in the massive tank of a car. I shot an accusing glance at Edythe. She was laughing silently.

"It seems people really fancy your new ride," she said teasingly.

 _"Ostentatious…"_ I quoted her.

"We have to indulge every once in a while."

"They probably think we're drug lords, or something," I said.

"Arms dealers, actually," she laughed. "They can't imagine what we'd be doing in the middle of nowhere."

As we waited at the gate in Sea-Tac International, I kept eyeing the flight schedule. Edythe elbowed me.

"Dallas?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"No… Just a stop along the way," she laughed.

When we got to DFW, it felt painfully slow to move through the terminals at human pace. Several minutes later, Edythe led me up to the international counter to check in.

"Motu Mute?" I pronounced hesitantly. "Where the heck is that?"

"Nowhere," Edythe smiled. "Just another stop along the way."

The flight across the Pacific Ocean was so long, it was torture. I was too eager to get wherever we were going. But I had to admit, I could never be bored with Edythe no matter where we were. We sat in a wide, comfortable first class seat, with my arms wrapped around her the whole way.

Edythe must have noticed my impatience. "It's faster than swimming."

"No, I like this," I said. "We should do this all the time."

"Okay. I don't see any problem with that," she said.

And then I kissed her, and she didn't hesitate to kiss me back.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" Edythe asked, pointing to the small screen on the back of the seat in front of us. "I was thinking maybe something romantic."

I thought about it for a minute, then I shook my head. "No, I honestly hate romance movies."

"Oh, really? Since when?"

"Since now. Why would I want to watch other people kissing when I could be kissing you?"

Which I guess she couldn't argue with, because she pulled me closer and her kiss was even more urgent now.

A stewardess tiptoed down the aisle past all the sleeping passengers. "Can I get you two some pillows?" she asked as an obvious hint to quell our loud conversation.

"No, thank you," I said as I smiled up at her. The attendant's expression was dazed as she turned back the way she came.

"Trust me. We'll have plenty of time for that where we're going," Edythe said with a laugh. "But for now let's try to keep it appropriate for mortal eyes…"

When we got to the airport in Bora Bora, I was expecting us to connect to another flight. It _was_ a stop along the way, but it was actually the last flight. When I questioned what we were doing, Edythe told me to trust her as we got into a taxi. We rode toward the edge of the city.

The car stopped at the docks. A small, unoccupied boat was tied up there, bouncing on the waves.

When the driver sped away, I started to load our things into the boat.

Edythe reached out to grab my arm, laughing. "That's not even our boat, Beau. It just happened to be here."

I smiled as I realized what we were about to do.

"But what about all this stuff?" I asked.

Edythe shrugged. "Time to ditch it. It was only a decoy anyway."

"If you say so."

We jumped off the dock into the black expanse. I had never been much of a swimmer, but I knew that would make no difference to this body. I hadn't even attempted it yet, but I knew it would be as effortless as anything else.

Edythe was graceful as ever as she strode through the dark water. I had no trouble keeping up with her.

"How far are we going?" I asked. "You know Hawaii has airports, right?"

She laughed. "I told you to trust me. No more questions." She disappeared beneath the waves.

A few minutes later, she grabbed me and stopped, pointing to something far in the distance. "See it now?" A small island rose out of the water on the horizon ahead of us, a brown silhouette in the moonlight. A few long strides later, and we were walking up onto the soft, pristine sand of the beach lined with palm trees.

"Where are we?" I asked, amazed.

"Isle Cullen," Edythe said as if the answer were obvious. "A remote island off Bora Bora. Carine and Earnest bought it when they married. They vacation here from time to time."

 _"Bought_ the island?" I asked, exasperated.

"Are you just going to stare at it, or are you going to take me inside?" she questioned holding her arms out.

I picked her up off the sand and started racing down the beach.

We reached the dark vegetation, and on the other side we came upon the warm light of a beach house. Without hesitation, I zipped up to the deck and came to a stop as I stepped with her over the threshold. The house was so large for the tiny island it was on, and it had a familiarity to it. It had wide, expansive windows that almost made the walls of the house similar to the Cullens' place. Though, it was more fitting here away from the cold and rainy climate. The inside was mostly white. In the center of the master bedroom was an enormous, white bed surrounded by a frame and mosquito netting. I sat Edythe on her feet.

"It's so much warmer here," I said.

"I know. It feels great, doesn't it?" Then she paused. "I think we should get out of these wet clothes… Don't you think?" She smirked at me.

Did my skin just burst into flames? I felt silly for doing it, but I had to look down and check.

She out of the house, disappearing into the night, and I followed her. I had to stop at the water's edge when I saw Edythe's clothes lying crumpled on the ground.

How did people do this? How could anyone be so vulnerable to someone else? I snapped out of the silly hesitation when I remembered Edythe was waiting out there for me. I unbuttoned my wet shirt, leaving it and my shorts behind with hers.

Everything was almost colorless in the light of the moon, but it was plenty to be able to see. I looked across the low ripples of the water and spotted her easily. She stood waist deep with her back to me. She was staring up at the magnificent full moon.

I stared as the waves broke around her like a stone statue rising out of the water. My eyes traced the smooth lines of her back, the flawless shape of her shoulders. A rush of heat burst through me again. The fire was deep within me now, as it seemed to smolder away all of the awkwardness and uncertainty.

"It's so beautiful," she breathed as I reached out and touched her hand under the water. She was still looking up at the moon.

"Yeah, but that's not the word I would use for it… Not with you standing here anyway," I said as I pulled her to me.

Her arms were tight around me, holding me against her, and every nerve ending in my body was a live wire.

"Forever?" she asked, sinking with me deep into the dark water. I nodded eagerly in anticipation.

I kissed her for real, like it was the very first time all over again, and her fingers laced through my hair. We moved as one, eclipsing the moonlight's glare on the water's surface. Heat surged wildly through my core as her hands moved down to curl around my back.

I lifted her up onto me, and her legs wrapped around my torso. I looked straight into the liquid gold of her eyes as she cupped my face. I pulled her face into mine to kiss her again. It was the thousandth time, yet we somehow found a way to make the experience new. There was no restraint… no slightest hint of caution left between us.

I don't know what _this_ was, but nothing before was even in the same stratosphere. So many times I had fantasized this very moment, and it didn't even compare to what I felt now. The electrifying burning radiated through my every inch at this point. That's when my brain started to go fuzzy.

And the best part was that I knew she was feeling all of the same things I was.

"Beau…"

The word came out in a labored breath. And her fingers started to trail up across my stomach and chest. The tension was almost unbearable, like some unstoppable force of nature pulling us together. I tugged her body tightly up against mine, giving the gravity what it wanted.

My whole body melted as we disappeared under the waves.


	7. FOREVERMORE

4\. FOREVERMORE

Edythe had always thought of herself as being a creature belonging to the shadowy world of ghosts and demons. But of course, I'd always maintained that she belonged _here_ in what felt more like an endless fairy tale—one that I miraculously got written into. Staying in this private beach house with her wasn't at all like real life. I'd stepped into the fairy tale.

Edythe had shown me all the rooms of the house, which was much larger than I would have thought from the outside. I flipped the warm lights on as we went. This place had the same familiar pale color scheme as the Cullen house. It felt like home.

"There should be a closet through those double doors. Carine made sure the maids stock-piled it since we didn't bring any luggage," she told me.

I almost started to feel bad that Archie had gone through the trouble of packing luggage we'd end up ditching. But, then again, I hadn't asked for it. He shouldn't have been over=zealous to force me into high fashion.

Edythe didn't even glance in the direction of the closet. Her arms curled under me, and she inhaled deeply as she moved her lips slowly up my neck stopping beneath my ear. I caught her mood in an instant, and I turned my face down, pulling hers to mine.

Apparently, she hadn't had enough. Because she gripped my hair with a sudden fierceness, and she stifled a low moan. All over again, the fire raced through me, and she couldn't seem to close the space between us fast enough.

Memories of last night flooded through my mind; I wanted a repeat. I wanted to hear my name from her exasperated lips over and over.

It almost felt rude to keep ignoring that massive white bed, but it looked like we still weren't going to make it that far.

I had to remind myself that, as a newborn vampire, I was temporarily stronger than she was. But I found it was hard to concentrate through the heat of it. For a change, I worried that I was going to end up hurting her.

It was hard to tell if I did hurt her because she didn't complain. In the back of my mind, I started to realize the predicament we were in. We would never get tired, out of breath, need to sleep, nor eat… nothing at all to interrupt our activities. No more of the mundane needs of human life.

She was the most beautiful goddess in the history of existence, and I had her all to myself. I almost didn't believe it, like I would blink at any moment and it would all vanish.

Despite that fear, I couldn't imagine that there would ever be a point where I would think, _Okay, I've had enough of this for one day_.

I would always want more… She would always want more. So I kept running into the same conclusion… How did we ever _stop_? Needless to say, it didn't bother me one bit that I hadn't the slightest idea.

I knew when the sun was beginning to rise again, first because Edythe's skin started to glimmer subtly. I looked up to finally see how the light painted the room differently.

After what we had just done, it was crazy idiotic to have any doubts, yet the uncertainty of what she really thought of me burned in the back of my mind. I knew that when I'd been human, that desire was there for her. But did it still carry over the same for her now? Did all the lust for blood translate totally into actual lust?

Would she even have wanted me if she'd met me as her equal?

"Do you ever miss it?" I asked her.

"Miss what, Beau?" She almost seemed irritated that I had put a halt to our activities.

"The old me. The warmth, the smell… the constant desire and temptation. From my point of view, I have gained it all, but it seems like you've sort of lost a little bit of something in the process."

She contemplated her answer.

"You _are_ warm and soft," she decided. "As for the smell, I can't say I miss that. It's nice to not have this monstrous instinct in the back of my mind every waking moment that's telling me to kill you. I know you've noticed the appeal of a human's blood. It's so difficult even from a distance. Just imagine kissing _that_."

And she wasn't wrong. I couldn't even fathom how it was possible.

"Oh… Yeah, you really were crazy. My throat just burst into flames thinking about it." We both laughed.

"Exactly," she mused. "Trust me. I'm not missing anything. With that part of things gone now… It's like there's no more hesitation to let myself feel those desires. I can truly let myself sense all the emotions, without any restraint. And I've told you before; I do still find you both beautiful _and_ delicious."

I laughed at her suggestion. "Just in a different way, huh?"

"Even more, actually."

Wow. I was an idiot after all.

It was so comfortable there in the blazing sun. I could have lain here forever, eternally peaceful.

"You know, I was right about one thing. It's a good thing we didn't try this while you were still human," she said. "I probably would have crushed every bone in your body last night."

I laughed. "I probably wouldn't have fared much better than this bed frame."

She stood up then, realizing the mess we'd made. "Oh, these poor pillows…"

I pulled on a pair of khakis and a white tank top, and she glided over to the bathroom.

Edythe suddenly gasped in horror.

Any time she ever made a sound of distress, my defensive instincts took over immediately. I was rushing to her side without even thinking about what I was doing. "What? What is it?"

"I'll _never_ get all of this out of my hair! How did you keep from laughing at me the whole night when I looked like this?" she shrieked.

I laughed. "You would be worried about your hair."

I stood behind her as we both plucked the fluffy down from her hair.

She looked at the big closet for the first time. "Find me something to wear?"

I ran in and grabbed the first thing that caught my attention. I held out the white two-piece—something I'd never seen on her before.

She made a doubtful face. "I don't know about that one. It's not exactly my style."

"Oh, give me a break…" I sighed. "Don't act like you don't have the luxury of looking beautiful regardless of what you wear."

"That's not true," she insisted. "And you definitely pull off that 'I don't give a crap how I look but I look flawless anyway' look."

I leaned back in the fancy chair as I turned to face the mirror with a cocky smirk. "I do, don't I?"

"This isn't fair…" she said, looking down at the two-piece. "I feel much more immodest than you."

I took it to mean that rather than dressing _up_ , she wanted me to dress down. I ditched the shirt, leaving only the shorts. Neither of us wore shoes.

She smiled smugly. "Much better," she said as she moved her hands to my torso, tracing down my stomach. "Please remind me to have you do this more often. Very aesthetically pleasing."

I would have blushed. The old me came out again as I felt the need to cover up. I understood that I'd been through an upgrade of sorts, but I still couldn't say I was anything great to look at. At least not while standing next to this being…

Taking on other physical activities was easy. There were plenty of things to explore… the big jungle, the sandy beaches, the ocean… There was a large waterfall a mile or so from the house. I watched in awe from below as Edythe stood at the apex, shining like a fiery beacon. She jumped into the waterfall, crashing next to me in the small pool with a force that I'm sure would have incapacitated someone who wasn't indestructible.

At one point, we even saw dolphins leaping in the waves, but as soon as we entered the water, they quickly disappeared as if sharks had come near. It always seemed that animals were much more keen to the danger than humans.

Day by day, it never got old. Daylight hours were mostly spent swimming, hunting, exploring, climbing, and just about anything else we could think of. By night, we had the hundreds of movies shelved under the big-screen television to choose from.

Tonight, as I put a movie in, Edythe crept into the big room wearing some sort of lacy lingerie she'd found.

"So, Beau… I was wondering what you'd think of this one?" she said in a seductive voice

I didn't even need to speak for her to know what I thought of it. "Do you even have to ask?" I laughed.

"You are so _human_ , Beau… raging hormones and all. She moved to stand above me, wrapping her hands behind my neck.

In my head, I started to daydream… I was with Edythe out in the brilliant sun, the light refracting in a million shiny rays off our intertwined bodies on the white sand.

"Beau?" she asked impatiently.

"Oh… sorry!" I said as I attacked, carrying her toward the open door.

And we picked up where my daydream left off.

"Hey, look! The pillows survived this time," I exclaimed as she lay across me on the blue bed in a different room. The big white room was still thoroughly trashed.

"I think we owe them two new headboards though," she said, touching the wooden frame. Chunks were missing from it in the shape of bite marks.

"Oh, and your poor, um… nightgown," I said looking across the room at the shredded pieces of lace. "That's a shame. I really liked that one."

Her hand suddenly flew up to cover her mouth. "Beau, I'm so sorry! Look what I did to you!"

I stared at her, confused. She pointed, and I looked at my shoulders, which were covered in faint lines in the shape of crescent moons. The bed frame wasn't the only thing she'd been sinking her teeth into.

"You know…" I said as I started laughing. "I'm thinking that probably should have hurt, but I was too distracted to notice."

"I'm so sorry," she exhaled as she pressed her face into my chest.

I chuckled. "Hey, it'll make me look tough. Battle scars."

Her expression changed then as she reacted to some queue I couldn't detect.

"Hold on to that thought," she said.

That's when I heard the approaching boat. We both ran over to the closet to make ourselves decent.

"How will we explain this mess to the housekeeping?" I asked jokingly. "I guess while they clean up we can go out and hunt."

"I'll get it," she said. The knock at the door came two seconds later.

I could hear Edythe in the front room, talking to the woman in fluent French, which was something I'd never realized she could do, but it really didn't come as a surprise at all. Who knew how many languages she could speak?

The woman smiled at Edythe as she spoke with her. But when the woman looked up at me, her expression suddenly changed. She was no longer smiling. At first, it looked like confusion, but then it turned absolute shock.

I had to hold back laughter. She probably couldn't figure out why we'd decided to destroy the place… or how exactly. But then I realized that the woman's expression was locked on me, and not the mess around me.

Shit… My eyes. I blinked a few times and turned the other direction toward the bathroom. I had been so used to being around other vampires I had forgotten about the unnatural irises, not quite pure gold. I had ditched my sunglasses at the shore when we'd arrived.

When Edythe realized what the woman was thinking, she immediately distracted her, diverting her attention to the white room. The woman stared through the doorway looking appalled.

Edythe came back to me alone. I whispered into her ear. "It was the eyes, wasn't it? I probably look terrifying."

"She's a Tahitian native. They're very superstitious," she explained.

"Does she know?"

"She suspects. You scared her half to death."

"Why wasn't she afraid of you?" I asked.

"The eyes. They aren't the color she would expect. I made sure not to let her touch me, though."

"Isn't she afraid to be here? Will she leave?"

"No, because I'm here with you, and you're keeping me alive. She's mostly worried about me. They have legends about this sort of thing—stories about blood-drinking demons that seduce beautiful women before preying on them," she laughed.

"Well, damn. You certainly fit the bill… So it's probably best that we get out of here before she gets too worked up."

I watched her disappear from the house silently and head down the walkway into the jungle. I sighed in admiration as I stared after her. Then I leaped off the deck myself. I could feel it now, that raw, massive thrill spreading through my limbs. My body was reacting to what it was anticipating.

I caught up with her where she stopped at the stony edge of the waterfall over the river. She touched my face, took a couple steps back and launched herself over the wide ravine that was probably the length of a basketball court. She arched perfectly graceful over the water, better than any Olympic athlete. She turned a lightning-fast somersault before crashing into the thick vegetation on the other side.

"Show off," I called. I heard her crystal bell laugh.

I took one long bound, and I was airborne. It took a lot less time than I had anticipated to reach the other side. Probably a few milliseconds. I overshot the jump and started to come down into the jungle fifty yards or so beyond her. The thick trees were no problem though. I trained my eye on a limb I wanted to grab that was fast approaching, and as soon as I thought of grabbing it, I was swinging in a loop up and over the limb. From there, I dropped straight down onto the forest floor. I could hear Edythe running to catch up to me.

"How did I do?" I wondered.

"Very good." She smiled approvingly. "Now follow me. That is… if you can keep up, of course." She grinned tauntingly like a child encouraging a race. Then she was all but a blur of motion again.

She was definitely faster than me, but I was much stronger for now. So each massive bound I took made up for two of hers.

"What are we hunting? Are there even any large animals here?" I asked when I caught up with her.

"Water buffalo, hopefully," she said. "Carine says there aren't very many here… Only the ones people have brought to the islands that have escaped captivity. But I figured you would be up for the challenge."

We'd gotten here eight days ago, and the dry thirst in my throat was starting to become all I could think about.

"Okay. Close your eyes," she said, holding perfectly still. "Now listen carefully. What do you hear?"

 _Everything_ , I wanted to say. Her breath, her lips sliding past each other as she spoke, the whisper of birds all around us in the trees, their fluttering heartbeats, the crawl of insects in the soil, the distant crashing of the waves coming to shore, the wind whispering through the palms. But I knew she meant something more specific.

I extended my range outward, beyond the small hum of life around us. It was almost like sonar when I closed my eyes. With the way the sound echoed and interacted with the environment, I could practically picture the layout of the land beyond our line of sight.

There was a more open space nearby. I could tell by the difference in the sound of the wind in that direction. A small creek was there at the edge, and that's where I heard it.

It was just at the minimal threshold of my hearing—the lapping of a large tongue on water… And the loud thumping of a beating heart… pushing thick streams of blood.

I felt the sides of my throat suck closed. "In the creek to the northwest?" I asked.

"Precisely."

Then the wind shifted, and I got the first scent. I let myself drift toward it, unthinking. When I neared the edge of the clearing, I centered around the smell of the buffalo. Only a hundred yards now. Just two or three bounds between us. I tensed to take the leap.

But the wind took an unexpected turn, deciding now to blow from the south. Without even making a conscious thought, my feet carried me away. I was hurdling through the trees in the opposite direction, toward a smell that was infinitely more enticing. I had no choice. It was compulsory. I was single-minded as I ran, only aware of that most attractive scent I'd ever pursued.

The fire got even worse as it anticipated being quenched, and I was reminded of the flowing venom in my mouth and body.

Despite the obvious frenzy, one single thing distracted me from the heated pursuit: protecting my prey from competition.

My body tensed instantly the second I was aware that I wasn't the only one on this trail. The overwhelming urge to turn and attack interrupted my focus. I could feel it bubbling within me, and I whipped around as the sound erupted from my chest. My lips were pulled back to expose my teeth as the sound ehoed all around me.

I gasped.

Did _I_ just make that sound? It unsettled me just enough that my head cleared for a split second. The wind shifted direction again, and then I only had the memory of the intoxicating scent that I realized could only be human.

Edythe stood hesitantly a few yards away, frozen. I stiffened too as I took in the look on her face. Horrified, I realized that I had almost attacked her. I straightened out of my defensive stance as Edythe watched the real me return in my expression. I stood there holding my breath, fearing the return of that scent from the south. She took a step toward me.

"I have to get out of here!" I spit through my clenched teeth.

Her face was bewildered. _"Can_ you?"

I jumped into an all-out sprint again to the north. The only thing I could think about was how uncomfortable it was to take away my sense of smell. I didn't need to breathe, but my body still held the instinct to do so.

I was aware again that I was being followed, but I was sane this time.

As soon as I felt I was well enough away from any trace of _that,_ I planted my feet into the soft brown earth so suddenly that Edythe blew past me in a breeze, not expecting the halt. A half-second later, she was back at my side.

"How the hell did you do that?" she demanded.

"What? Run away? You distracted me when you came up behind me like that… then I held my breath."

"But how did you just stop yourself from hunting?"

"Well, what else could I do? It was an innocent person! It was the housekeeper, wasn't it?"

I was startled, as completely out of nowhere, Edythe erupted into high peals of laughter. She threw her head back and was holding her hands to her torso.

"What the hell is so damn funny?" I demanded, a little too aggravated.

"I'm not laughing at you, Beau. I'm laughing because I'm in total shock. I am one hundred percent, truly amazed by you."

"What? Why?"

"You shouldn't have been able to do any of that… just break off in the midst of a frenzy. Even those of us with years of experience have difficulty with that. It's like you've already been doing this for half a century!"

"But… I was just fine when she was in the house with us, and with all the other humans I've been around.. I'm actually a little annoyed with myself, to be honest. I don't know why it overcame me like that." I sighed.

She put her hands on my face, her eyes filled with wonder. "What I wouldn't give to see into that head of yours for just a second…" She trailed off, closing her eyes, like she was trying to find a way into my brain. Then she looked up at me again. "What I meant was, under normal circumstances, you're guarded. You're always prepared for what's coming because you always know ahead of time when humans are around. But when this one was leaving the house, you pursued because you had already turned over to your instincts. The frenzy had already begun. Once we get blood on our minds, it's like the person we once were slips away for a minute, to let the beast within show itself."

"Oh… I guess that makes sense then."

"But how can you even be having this conversation with me right now? Aren't you unbearably thirsty?" she asked, eyes wide again.

"Well, yeah, now that you bring it up again!"

She slapped a palm to her face.

I swallowed and then relaxed, closing my eyes to help me concentrate on finding the buffalo again. I inhaled, sifting through the scents, a little worried I might happen upon the other scent that was so much more attractive.

I had hoped I could find it even just slightly appealing now, with the memory that had desensitized me. But I found something different, to our east. My eyes flashed open, and I was off again. The vegetation began to thin as it flew past me, and then I could hear it.

It was only marginally more enticing than the buffalo before. The padding of its soft feet was much gentler than hooves. And this time the sound was coming from above, in the trees rather than the ground. I climbed my way up the tallest tree I could find in a fraction of a second. That's where I pinpointed my target.

The unusual heartbeat was coming from a tree to my left. My eyes locked on what created the sound and I could see the spotted hide of the massive jaguar perched on a thick branch. It was huge, easily twice my mass. I could see her attention was focused on something on the ground. She hunted, too. Her tail swished through the air, then her body tensed as she readied for the pounce. I needed to move now.

With a quick bound, I sailed through the air and landed on the jaguar's branch. She whipped around to let out a shriek, but before she knew what was coming, I launched myself onto her, knocking us to the jungle floor.

The long claws raking against my back could have been made of rubber for all the impact they had on my skin. It wasn't much of a fight. I found the source of the flowing heat in her throat and sunk my teeth into the exact spot. I cut through the thick skin with ease. It was like biting into butter.

The flavor still wasn't exactly right, but it would suffice. I decided it was slightly more satisfying than the herbivores I was used to. I remembered something Edythe had explained before about carnivorous prey tasting better.

The cat's struggle grew more and more feeble as the life drained from her body. The warmth of the blood coursed through me, and I shoved her off me.

I stood myself up then and noticed I was a bit of a mess. Of course, the jaguar hadn't left a scratch on me, but my khakis were a total loss. They were no match for jaguar claws.

"Wow," Edythe said, leaning against a nearby tree. I guess I'd already realized she was there, but I hadn't paid any attention until now.

"I suppose that could have been done more cleanly?" I asked as I straightened up my shredded shorts. Edythe didn't ever come home looking like this.

"No, you did it perfectly," she nodded. "I must say though; it was almost difficult to watch."

I raised my eyebrows skeptically.

"It just goes against the grain in a way," she explained. "Letting you wrestle with the apex predator of the jungle. I almost had an anxiety attack. Silly, though… Old habits die hard, I suppose."

I rolled my eyes.

"I do like the… modifications to your outfit," she said with a seductive grin. "Rips and holes are apparently the trend these days."

I realized that the ripped up fabric of my shorts left little to the imagination. I almost tried to cover myself, but then I shook the silly embarrassment from my head as I reminded myself we'd just spent the last several nights having mind-blowing sex. I changed the subject. "The jaguar… It tasted somewhat better than I was expecting."

"Carnivores share a slightly similar flavor to human blood. It's what we all tend to prefer."

"Okay, it couldn't be _that_ much like a human's," I countered. "I bet it doesn't even compare."

"I do suppose we could go back out there… Catch up with that woman," she mused. "Or take you to the mainland. You'd have plenty of options. I'm sure that when it came down to it, no girl would mind death if you were the one delivering it." Her gaze ran up and down my body again.

I scoffed. "Edythe, you're truly _absurd_ ," I quoted her in a mocking voice.

She laughed. "Are we done for the day? Or should we continue?"

"No, I'm done," I said. "I'm feeling pretty full."

Even now, the burn in my throat was merely toned down. I'd never experienced feeling fully satisfied there. It was irritating to think about the fact that I probably never actually would. At least I _hoped_ I never would. It was just an inescapable part of the life I had chosen.

But it was absolutely worth it.


	8. TALENTED

5\. TALENTED

We stayed on the island for an entire month for our overextended honeymoon. Eventually, we were reluctant to decide it was best to make our way home now due to the depleted hunting supply. It was a bittersweet feeling to leave. I could give all my life just to stay another month in this place.

On the morning of the day we left, the housekeeper's small boat approached, and the scent fried fish hit me. I was surprised at how the smell of something that was such a staple of my human diet wasn't even slightly appealing now. It didn't smell bad in any way, just not edible—no different than smelling a flower or freshly washed clothes. There was no desire to put it in my mouth.

"She brought us lunch. How thoughtful," Edythe said.

"Just for you," I laughed.

I couldn't imagine how this woman actually thought Edythe was human, especially when she was so keen to the supernatural. No one looked like _that_ without something other-worldly going on; even I'd guessed that much the first time I'd seen her.

I guessed that bringing the food was just an excuse to check in on Edythe. Maybe she wanted to see if the monster had harmed her yet. Edythe had found another reason to end our stay when she'd gathered from the woman's thoughts how she had been raising suspicion with some superstitious locals.

But with the human here, we wouldn't be able to step outside and risk being seen. So we stayed put for now. The woman stopped just shy of the doorway, beckoning for Edythe to come outside. Edythe disagreed politely in French, but the woman wouldn't take no for an answer. That's when they started to argue.

I didn't know what either of them was saying. I had to rely on inflection in tone to get the gist of the conversation. The woman's voice sounded full of concern. It was almost like she was pleading with Edythe to come with her. Edythe, however, was very reassuring. I could only assume how she was insisting that I wasn't any danger.

When the woman didn't relent, Edythe suddenly got harsh in the way she spoke. She said something in an annoyed tone, and as soon as the woman started to argue again, Edythe grabbed her gently by the arm.

The woman flinched away from the contact like she'd been shocked by static. Her eyes bulged open in disbelief, and that's where the conversation ended. She got out of the house so fast it was almost funny.

When we were on our return flight, I asked her about it.

"What was the housekeeping lady arguing with you about?"

Edythe chuckled quietly. Then she whispered so that only I could hear. "She was trying to convince me that you were a blood-drinking demon, that you were surely planning to kill me soon."

I shook my head. "It's crazy how certain she was."

"Oh, you have no idea. She was adamant. I didn't think she was going to let me go with you. She insisted that I come with her, that she could get me away from you. I promised her I was perfectly fine and I trusted you. And when she wouldn't relent, I grabbed her arm to let her feel. That was when I told her it was none of her business."

I stifled a laugh. "So that's what shut her up."

"I almost made a mess for us. I was worried she was going to have a heart attack when she realized you weren't the only demon."

"You're _terrible_. She'll have nightmares the rest of her life."

Her face was pleased with my satisfaction. "She's not working for Carine again, that's for sure."

When our plane landed in Seattle, Edythe smiled mischievously. "There's a surprise waiting for us here."

I looked at our surroundings. "What do you mean?"

"More of a surprise for you, I suppose. You'll see."

We came down the ramp at the gate where several families were waiting to greet their loved ones.

And right in the middle of them, much more striking by contrast, unnaturally still and white, with large black eyes intent on us, our surprise waited for us impatiently.

In a way that was a little bit too enthusiastic, I hurled myself at him.

"Archie! What the hell are you doing here?" I said as I slammed into him.

"I couldn't wait any longer to see you guys! You must never run away from me like that again."

Edythe let out a sigh. "Exuberant as always, little brother."

"Is Jessamine with you, too?" I asked.

"Nope. It's just me. I had to sneak away." He gave a guilty smile. "I actually had some news to tell you, and I couldn't wait any longer. I've been holding it in for days. And when I saw you coming, I couldn't help myself. I wanted you to be the first person I told because you were the one who helped me."

"Helped you? With what?"

"Inadvertently…" he explained as we walked. "Since you accidentally uncovered some key pieces about my past. I decided to do a little research while you guys were away."

Archie had taken the bits of information Joss had revealed to us on video and tracked down the asylum where he'd spent the last years of his human life, the life he had no memory of.

"My name was Maxwell Brandon," Archie told me on the way home. He'd made Edythe drive our car back alone so I could ride with him. "And I had a little brother named Christopher. His son, my biological nephew, is still alive. He lives in Biloxi."

"Maxwell?" I asked in surprise. "Where did you get Archie from?"

"That's the one thing I can't figure out. In the beginning, I had no idea who I was or what my name was. But I distinctly saw that people would call me Archie. I always assumed that was what my name had been. Maybe it was a nickname or middle name. There's no way to know for sure," he shrugged.

"So did you find out why they put you… in there?" I couldn't imagine what would drive anyone to send their child off to an asylum, even if he did see visions of the future.

He just shook his head, his eyes thoughtful. "I couldn't find much about my parents. I went through all the old newspapers on microfiche in my hometown's library. They must not have been part of the big social scene at the time. The only times they were mentioned were for their engagement, and Christopher's. Their deaths were in there… as was mine. I found my gravestone. The death date was three days before I'd woken up alone. They must have marked me as deceased when I'd disappeared. I finally know for sure that I was nineteen. I was born the same year as Edythe."

I didn't know what to say, and after a short pause, he continued.

"The most intriguing thing I found was that my mother was murdered on the same day I was admitted. Then I started to figure it out. I think that must have been why my parents sent me away. I must have warned them what was coming, with no other choice. And when she really was killed after I said she would be, I would have been accused of witchcraft… or at least connected to the crime."

"And you still don't remember how Joss was involved?"

He frowned. "See, that's what perplexes me. I figured seeing her again should have opened up some old memory I'd had of her. I keep thinking she must have been lying, but then how else would she know the story so well? I know I must have seen her coming for me if my creator had time to save my life."

I was so caught up in Archie's revelations, I didn't notice that we were already pulling into the Cullen's driveway.

To my surprise, none of Carine's friends had actually gone home. I could hear all the approaching footsteps before we could see them coming to greet us.

"Back so soon?" Taran asked. "I was surprised when Archie said you two were already on your way back."

"Well, we would have stayed longer, but Beau is apparently the terrible incubus of the Tahitian legends," Edythe teased. "Our housekeeper genuinely feared for my life. Beau is just terrifying to the humans… or at least the suspicious ones, anyway."

"Ah, certainly _not_ ," Taran joked. "Well, Beau, if it makes you feel any better, I was considered the incubus at one time."

"The what?"

"Vampires who seduce human women, like I told you," Edythe explained.

I felt defensive. "Okay, okay. That may be what she thought I was doing there with you. But _you_ technically did that to _me_ when I was human… just backward."

"The succubus," Taran laughed

Edythe rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. Guilty as charged." She grinned. "But I think Taran takes the cake for being the real incubus. After all, how many women did you end up torturing?"

"Shhh… Don't frighten the poor boy," Taran accused.

They all laughed at my expression, probably because I was looking at them all like they were crazy. Then he went on to explain.

"It's actually how I discovered my conscience, if you will—my respect for human life. You see, a long time ago, I suffered a great loss, and I tried to fill the void in me with numerous… flirtations. It was so much easier finding human women. They're a hell of a lot more plentiful, and definitely eager. Always."

"So you've been with human women?" I asked him. The curiosity compelled me.

"Dozens. It was my love for them that eventually made me turn against the slaughter. With each woman, I would grow so close to her. We would get more and more involved with each other. And then I would inevitably push my luck too far. Every time I would slip up, I had to watch the life drain from her eyes. And each time I loathed myself more and more. It forced me to see myself for what I truly was. I eventually felt so much grief for killing them, I finally decided to stop feeding on humans altogether. And for the longest time, I gave up pursuing them."

"But why human girls? You never found an immortal you were interested in?" I asked.

He shot the slightest of glances in our direction. "Funny you should mention that. Edythe was actually the first one I found myself interested in. But she never saw anyone _that_ way… until you, of course."

Edythe winked at me. Taran continued. "Rejection wasn't something I was used to. But it made me do some thinking. What if there was a way I could be with human women without needlessly killing them? I thought that maybe if I moved away from a steady diet of human blood, it would strengthen my ability to resist. That's when I met Carine, and she told me all about this way of life. She was so thrilled, as I was the first she'd ever met willing to try it. Eventually, I discovered that the animal blood did just that. I haven't killed a human since. I shared this with my brothers, and they fortunately followed in my footsteps."

"Wow," I said in a breath. I wondered if Taran's decision was what convinced Carine she should make a family of her own that would live as she did. "That's really interesting. I'd sort of been wondering how you'd chosen Carine's lifestyle."

Lauren started in then. "I do it mostly for Ivan." She smiled at him conspiratorially. "And he makes sure I don't cheat."

"When she showed up," Ivan said. "I started to think she had come to mock us for having a different way of life. That's the usual reaction to what we do, and I've always feared that. But I'm so glad my feeling was wrong. I'm also grateful Taran convinced me Lauren was the one for me." He leaned over to kiss Lauren on the cheek.

"Just call me the matchmaker!" Taran slapped Ivan on the back. I could see the slightest hint of envy on his face. He and Kirill still no one to call theirs.

Then Edythe's mouth opened, and I thought she might laugh. "You know… When you really do think about it, that's a fair assessment. After all, it was the conversation I had with Taran back in January that brought me back to Forks. If it hadn't been for that encouragement, I don't know if I would have ended up with Beau." The look of sadness that broke across her face was heartbreaking.

"Wait, what do you mean? What conversation?" I asked her.

Edythe went on to explain. "When I ran away the first day I saw you—remember how I went to visit some old friends?"

I had to ponder that for a second, but the conversation was there, foggy in the old memories.

"Taran was the one I'd confided in. I really didn't think I'd ever be able to come back. Taran and I had a long conversation about it. He convinced me that I wasn't one to run from what haunted me, that I was the type of person to face things head on. It was exactly what I needed to hear. Because I did just that; I was back at school the next day."

"And here we are…" I said breathlessly. I just stood there with my mouth open, stunned. How many more people could I possibly owe for leading me to Edythe?

The longer we went on talking with the group, the more I began to notice how Elena seemed to be staring at me, like she was expecting something, though hadn't joined any conversation. That was when I remembered something Edythe told me long ago.

Elena and Kirill were gifted. I knew that Kirill could do something electrical with his skin. But I was hard pressed to remember what Elena's talent had been.

"Edythe, you never mentioned Beau was a shield. Such a talented family already, and now you've managed to find yet another special gift," she said.

Edythe's mouth opened, but then she stopped to contemplate what Elena had said.

"A shield?" I raised my eyebrows. But then I remembered. Elena could easily identify the talents of other vampires.

"Indeed," Elena answered me, though I was actually directing the question to Edythe. "It's strange, though. Because I can't actually get a sense of what it is. You've been blocking me all day. But because I feel nothing, that's how I know."

I couldn't quite understand what she meant by that.

"Wha— …blocking you? But I didn't _do_ anything."

"I never thought of it that way," Edythe said. Her face was astonished. "But I've never been able to read his thoughts, even when he was human. So I was already used to it… Have you ever known a gift to present itself so clearly before the transformation?"

"You're kidding!" Elena beamed with curiosity.

"It's only Edythe, though," I challenged. "Because Archie has no trouble with seeing my future, and Jessamine can do her thing as well."

"Those gifts aren't purely psychological in the way Edythe's telepathy is. Have you never met someone who does something similar?" Elena went on. "It comes down to the specifics of those effects. My best explanation is that visions of the future don't have to do with what goes on inside your head so much as they do with the way you influence the reality around you. And with Jessamine, I find that her manipulations aren't in the mind. She's actually changing altering transmitters and receptors in the physical body, tampering with endorphins and such," she explained.

I looked at her skeptically.

Edythe misread the confusion in my face. "This is Elena's gift. When someone has a quantifiable supernatural ability, she doesn't need to see it in action. She gets a feel for what it might be."

"It took me a while to decide what exactly you had, like I said," Elena explained.

"Kirill, don't!" Edythe gasped.

Kirill was suddenly grabbing me by the wrist. He looked eagerly at my face, waiting for some sort of reaction. But nothing happened.

"Yeah, no doubt about it. He's a good one, too. That should have nearly incapacitated him."

Edythe jerked me away from his touch. "What the hell, Kirill?"

"What exactly was I supposed to feel?" I questioned.

"Kirill has a very rare ability," Elena started. "He has an offensive power that creates the illusion of pain someone's mind by touching them. It feels as though they're being electrocuted by his contact."

"Basically, I'm the living taser. In the beginning, I was only able to do it with my fingertips," Kirill added as he motioned with his fingers. "I had to practice with it for a long time, but now I'm able to radiate it pretty much anywhere over my body. It makes me wonder… Beau, have you ever tried extending your shield to protect someone other than yourself?"

I was confused by his question. "I guess I don't know what you mean. I'm not actually trying to do anything," I explained. "It just happens automatically."

"That's actually really convenient… but if you could shield someone else, imagine the things you could do!" he said, looking at me like I was some fascinating spectacle.

Elena jumped in again. "Lady Sulpicia's personal bodyguard is able to do that. Renazo is different from you, though, in that he uses his shield to protect himself from physical attacks. He can include others in his bubble. You might not be able to shield someone besides yourself, though. Every gift is different."

With the idea in my mind, I felt a strong desire to do what they were talking about. I wanted to do this projection thing. Their words were beginning to sink in and make connections in my mind.

Because if Edythe, or anyone else in my family, was ever in danger… What if I could actually do something to protect them? There were bound to be others out there like Kirill who could do harm if they wanted. I needed to know if I could do this.

"You have to show me! Can you teach me what to do?" I grabbed Kirill's shoulder unthinkingly. He winced at my grip.

"Okay, but first, maybe stop trying to crush my clavicle?"

"Oh, sorry!" I stepped back.

"Yeah, no doubt about it. You're a shield for sure. I would normally have put someone on their ass if they grabbed me like that. You didn't even notice a thing." His voice was amused. "I've never met anyone who couldn't feel it."

"I'd definitely keep out of the eyes of the Volturi with a talent like that," Elena said. "Sulpicia always dreamed of such a thing existing."

Edythe cut him off. "Wait, you don't think she would…"

"Oh, definitely. I wouldn't put it past her. It's something I learned when I worked with her. Sulpicia has always been known to be a collector of talents. They don't have anyone like Beau in their guard. If it turns out Beau is able to project, I would keep it to yourselves. You don't want the word to get around."

Carine's voice was low as a breath. "I've always worried about Archie in the same way. I'm sure he's something she wants in her guard."

The Egyptians must have been listening in on our conversation, as they emerged from the house with curious expressions.

The Egyptians all looked so alike… I wondered to myself if they were biologically related. The young boy and girl looked like they could have been Ati and Kalil's children… except they were together. From the looks of it, they appeared to be a little younger than me, though I imagined they were much older. For all I knew, they'd been around for centuries.

Ati was a strong-looking, middle-aged woman—clearly the leader. Kalil seemed very timid and quiet, always close to her side. He never spoke a single word at the wedding. Benji and Tiago were also quiet and looked just as attached to each other.

"I second that," Ati chimed in her thick accent. "Benji's gift is so singular; I'm constantly terrified of losing her. I've never spoken about it to anyone before, but I know I can trust you, seeing as you face the same plight. And I assume it is impossible to keep such a secret from Elena and Edythe."

Like with me, I had noticed Elena staring at the small girl with the same curiosity.

"It's something I've never even heard of," Elena told us. "I don't even have a name for it."

Benji spoke for the first time in a friendly, high-pitched soprano. "Many would refer to it as telekinesis. Though, I can't manipulate any object. Just the four worldly elements: earth, air, fire, and water."

"Should we see if it works on me?" I asked, glancing at Edythe.

"Oh, it's not that sort of thing," Elena clarified. "It's a true physical manipulation of the elements."

"Really? That's so cool," I said.

"As you can imagine, she would make a very powerful weapon," Ati went on. "Luckily, she has an excellent sense of right and wrong."

It was only later, when we'd been working on trying to manipulate my shield with Kirill and Edythe, that we were able to watch Benji do her thing.

I marveled as she threw geysers of water up from the distant river, and created massive gusts of wind around us. She could even start a fire, all with her mind. It was like watching a real-life superhero.

This world was drifting so far from the one I thought I lived in. I began to question the endless possibilities of what other myths and legends that made up human tales had some grain of truth behind them.

As I'd found out, we shared the secret world with werewolves as well. What else had I always blown off as a fairy tale? The Lochness monster? Bigfoot? Who knew what else was out there…

I went on for hours, working with Kirill, trying to push the protective bubble out around me. It was so difficult; there was nothing for me look for, nothing to find inside my head. I didn't know what tangible thing I should feel. It was like looking for some sort of switch that wasn't there inside my brain.

Kirill was encouraging, despite my obvious difficulties. He insisted that once I finally did discover which part of my mind controlled the shield it would come more easily.

After what seemed like hours, I finally began to grasp brief moments of success. I was amazed at this thing I'd never known about myself.

Edythe insisted that she act as our guinea pig. I begged her not to. I didn't want her to feel any pain. But it had to be someone, and she insisted.

I'd stood behind her with my arms wrapped tightly around her body, eyes closed. I concentrated with all my might on covering her with whatever concealed me. She received shock after shock as I battled with the inner workings of my mind.

"I can barely feel it!" Edythe exclaimed when I first was able to block Kirill for however brief an instant.

Every now and then I would get it, but it would slip away again without any warning.

"Hey, don't worry," Edythe said reassuringly. "We have all the time in the world to figure this thing out."

"I'm sure you can do better," Kirill said. "Perhaps you just lack incentive. I'm thinking that maybe your protective instincts are what drive it. We're going to have to take a more intense approach… Shall we, Edythe?"

Edythe grimaced.

"Get ready. This one is going to be on full blast." Kirill's voice was sadistic as he raised his palm out toward Edythe.

"Kirill, stop!" I half snarled.

It was too late. Edythe's body stiffened, and her eyes rolled back in her head. She collapsed to her knees, and I lunged forward to balance her.

"You have to wait until I'm ready!" I shouted at Kirill. He just laughed menacingly.

My vision distorted into a hazy shade red. If Kirill wanted to keep his hands attached to his body, he'd better stop. My rage brought a sudden clarity to my head, and I sensed a new feel for the elasticity in my mind.

It was like there was something _extra_ there in my head that I wanted to gravitate to when I was upset or defensive. I could feel it now, like there was this trigger in my brain, something that had always been there that I'd never made use of. The itch was there in my head now, and I had this new, amplified focus brought on by the irritation. I latched onto it with confidence.

Kirill reached out again to touch Edythe, and a growl ripped out of my chest as I moved to snatch her away from his reach.

"Kirill, be careful. He's still very young. Don't upset him," Edythe warned.

I felt that new part of me stretching outward, swaddling Edythe between my arms. I noticed that I could actually _feel_ where she was inside of this sixth sense that was nearly impossible to describe.

I felt that same itch at the edge of the new periphery, exactly where Kirill's hand made contact with her body.

"Do you not feel anything?" Kirill asked.

"No, nothing at all," Edythe said in relief.

"And now?" Kirill asked.

"Still nothing."

I felt so elated that I had finally done it that I lost my focus. I felt the shield slip from my grasp.

"Ahh!" Edythe let out a sharp yelp as she recoiled from Kirill's touch.

But then she smiled. "That was amazing, Beau. You're really picking this up quickly!"

Her ecstatic expression waned ever so slightly then. "Although… I would have thought once I was inside your shield with you I would finally be able to… but I still couldn't hear anything from you. I wonder how that works."

"Sorry. Told you my mind was weird," I muttered. "Maybe that part is permanent."

As we went on into the night, I was getting better and better at this whole shielding thing.

Kirill was right. Since my mind had registered what I was actually looking for, I got to the point where he didn't even have to motivate me anymore.

Nor did I have to grab onto Edythe to do it; so that meant it didn't work through contact. At one point, I covered a good ten-foot radius, shielding Edythe, Archie, Benji, and Taran all at once.

Surprisingly, it didn't seem any more challenging to protect multiple people at once. It didn't take any more effort with the four of them than it had with just Edythe alone.

Interestingly, though, I could sense each of essences within it. What was challenging was holding the shield out from me for extended periods of time. After just a couple minutes of holding it up, I would start to feel exhausted, and it would dissipate. But two minutes was a huge leap from the two seconds in my first success. Maybe I really would get better.

"You know," Edythe said. "I think you should try to see if you could remove your shield entirely. Just think about it. I could finally read you."

"I don't know… I've been thinking about that," I shrugged. "If this thing is a defense mechanism, it doesn't seem like it would ever be advantageous for me to _not_ have it in place. Like I said, there's probably no way to make it go away. I can only do extra things with it."

"I hope that's not true," she muttered. "If I could ever just know what you were thinking… even for a few seconds. It would finally fill all the pieces of the puzzle—the mystery that is Beau—and imagine how satisfying that would be."

I raised an eyebrow. "Mystery?" I asked.

"Well, it's hard to explain. Even though you're obviously the one I'm closest to, I still don't feel like I _know_ you as well as I do others, in the truest sense of yourself. Once I've seen into someone's mind, I can know exactly what their inner being is like, to the point that I can predict the way they will behave in response to any particular thing. Some things just can't be externally expressed."

"I guess I can't really understand what you mean."

"For instance, with someone like Carine, I've seen the inside of her mind. I know her so well that someone could propose a question to ask her and I would know precisely, if not to the exact word, what her response would be, or even how she would react. But with you, I can't do that. You've always been a mystery to me. Of course, it was worse in the beginning. Still, there are times when you are a total enigma. Like when you broke from the hunt on the island, for example. That moment was pure torture for me. I'd never wanted so badly to peer into your head for just an instant."

She did make a good point. "That makes sense, I suppose. But that just makes me who I am. Maybe it's meant to be this way. I can't say that I don't like it, though. It's kind of why you took an interest to me in the first place."

When I really thought about it all, about everything that had happened leading up to where we were now, I couldn't help but think about the danger we'd put ourselves in after killing another vampire.

What Lauren had said kept the idea of Joss and Victor's menace fresh on my mind. We didn't need to rule out that there was some possibility that he might try in some way to act his revenge. I knew that I was no longer of interest, and nowhere near as vulnerable. But I also knew the sense of revenge was really intense with vampires.

"I don't doubt that Victor will come back for us one day," Edythe told me. "I saw his mind. But Archie will see him coming, and we'll be ready. He can't solve anything for himself on his own, though. He'll have to join forces with another coven."

Thinking about Victor really made me worry about Charlie. Victor had visited our home before when Joss was tracking me. Since he couldn't get to me, what if he decided to go after the people I loved?

Something told me I should check in and make sure he hadn't been around again. I felt horrible knowing that Charlie was there all alone and unprotected. I knew my fears were most likely misplaced, but I would much better be safe than sorry.

"I'm coming with you," Edythe said.

"No, I'm fine. I am indestructible now, you know. You don't have to protect me every moment of the day."

"But why do you care if I come?"

"It's silly…" I shook my head. "I just don't want to jinx it. If I bring backup, then that makes it a real concern, like something's actually going to happen. I know, it's a stupid reason."

She laughed. "You are absurd," she teased.

I ran on foot into town, keeping myself shrouded by the thick forestry. It took no time at all to make it to my old neighborhood, and I could hear the low rumble of voices in the distance. Probably a TV.

There were a few people out. A woman was walking her dog, wearing a rain poncho. Across the street, an elderly couple sat on their shallow porch reading a newspaper together. The man whistled cheerfully.

I was so bemused by the guy's carefree whistling; I hadn't realized I had wandered a little too far out of the concealment of shrubbery. I eased back in as I found a vantage point to Charlie's house. It looked exactly as it always had. As if my time there had never happened. I left no mark to denote my existence. The cruiser wasn't parked in the driveway.

There was a sudden pull, this desire to go inside…

If I could only sit at the dining room table and wait for him to come home. I could tell him I was alright, that it was all a big cover-up to protect him and myself. But I couldn't. Dead children didn't just show up in your house and reminisce about old times.

Suddenly stricken with grief, I decided to just go inside. I couldn't _be_ in Charlie's life anymore, but maybe I could help him out somehow through some subtle gesture—do a load of laundry, wash some dishes, tidy up the place, anything… It would confuse him, I suppose, but it's not like he could find out.

I checked to make sure no one was looking, and I leaped up to the branch nearest my window in the big tree next to the house—the same way Edythe always had. The window was easy to slide open from the outside.

And I couldn't believe my eyes. My old room was _exactly_ how I had left it. Things were strung about in haste from when Edythe and I had torn through all of my drawers and closet to pack a bag. The bed was still unmade. All of my school things sat strewn across my desk.

I picked up my tattered copy of _Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea_ and shoved it into my back pocket. I doubted Charlie had even entered this room since I was gone. He'd never know. I flipped through the pages, wafting the stale air toward my face.

And that's when I noticed it.

The unmistakably sweet scent was days old, but it was there. It wasn't anyone I recognized. A vampire had been here, in my dad's house.

I froze in horror for a split second, then I was suddenly picking up objects in my room, holding them to my nose. And there, on one of the pillows, and a shirt on my floor. That's where the scent was strongest.

I dashed down the stairs and sniffed the air in the living room. The smell was fainter here. I checked Charlie's bedroom, smelling the comforter on the bed. No trace of the scent.

Then I heard someone quietly slip through the open window upstairs. I tensed still as a statue and listened intently.

"Beau?" Edythe's voice called from my room.

Edythe? Had she followed me?

I met her halfway down the stairs. "Edythe! Did you catch the scent? Someone's been in Charlie's house."

"Yes. Archie saw your reaction, and I came as fast as I could."

"Victor was here, wasn't he?"

"No. It's not him; I don't recognize the scent." Her black eyes were deep in thought.

"Someone he knows?"

"Could have been. This has to have something to do with us. A passerby wouldn't have left your father alive. And they clearly had no intentions of interacting with us, otherwise Archie would have seen it."

I gulped as I imagined some stranger vampire coming to Charlie's house while he slept.

"Edythe, Victor doesn't know that I'm one of you now. If Joss never turned back up, then he knows she lost. Someone was looking for me. Someone came as a favor for him to kill me."

"Or came to find answers for where you could be found if you weren't here. Come on. Let's go!"

"But Charlie!" I said, grabbing ahold of her arm.

"He's safe. Archie will be watching. We'll know if anyone tries anything, like always."

Everyone was waiting for us, poised in stress. Edythe looked angry as we bolted in through the door.

"Who is it, Archie?" she demanded.

Archie stood with his arms crossed over his chest. "I… I have no idea. I never saw anything."

"How is that _possible_?" she hissed

"Edythe…" I said in Archie's defense. I didn't like her talking to him that way. "It isn't an exact science. It isn't his fault if he didn't see."

"Do you realize your father could have been killed?!"

Archie rolled his eyes. "I would have seen _that_ , Edythe."

Edythe sighed. "Oh, really? You're sure?"

I grabbed Edythe by the hand. "Edythe, stop," I pleaded.

Archie's voice was cold when he answered. "You already have me watching the Volturi's decisions, watching for Victor to return, watching everyone else's last step. You want to add more? Do I have to watch the whole town, Edythe? If I try to keep up with too much, things are going to start slipping through the cracks!"

"Well, it looks like they already are!" Edythe snapped.

Archie rolled his eyes. "This visit was entirely innocuous. No one was in any danger. That's why it didn't trigger a vision."

"If you're watching their guard, why didn't you see them send—"

"I don't think this has to do with them. Again, I would have seen that," Archie insisted.

"It has to be!" Edythe said. "No one else would leave Charlie alive…"

"The Volturi?" I asked incredulously. "Why?"

"Archie saw a few of them discussing a visit to the area soon."

"Why, though?" I asked.

"We don't know."

"They would have to have added a new member for me to not notice," Archie replied.

Edythe exhaled. "Okay. Let's look at this logically. What are the possibilities?"

Everyone relaxed then. Archie sat down from his defensive stance, and Carine walked slowly toward him, her eyes far away. Earnest sat down with him on the couch. Royal was staring out the glass wall. Eleanor and Jessamine had gone out to hunt.

I sat down next to Archie.

"Victor?" Carine asked.

"No." Edythe shook her head. "Someone I've never met…"

She tossed one of my old white t-shirts to her. Carine pressed it to her face. "I don't know it either."

"It doesn't make sense," Earnest said. "If whoever it was meant to find Beau, Archie would have seen that. And they didn't touch Charlie, for that matter."

"But what was the point, then?" Carine questioned.

"And why wouldn't they have come here? If they knew us?" said Earnest. "Perhaps they were intimidated…"

"It was _too_ perfect," Archie said. "The visitor was very careful to make no contact, almost like he or she knew about me…"

"We have to do something. I'm really worried about Charlie," I said.

Earnest placed a hand on my shoulder. "Nothing will happen to your father, Beau. We're keeping a careful eye out."

I could tell by all their perplexed faces that we weren't going to figure this one out without more clues. But where did we look? Did we just wait for something else to happen? And why would the Volturi guard be coming here? Who was there to punish?

Later that night, after Taran and Ati's families had said their final goodbyes, Edythe played softly at the piano. I hadn't heard her touch the piano since the first day I met her family so long ago. Of course, she didn't sound at all out of practice. Perfect recall.

The unfamiliar song she was playing morphed through a bridge, and then I recognized the song she'd written for me. It sounded like something you'd hear from the virtuosos of the romantic era. It was totally enchanting.

Edythe turned her head and smiled as I sat on the bench next to her. There was no interruption in the song. I'd never had an interest in this sort of thing before, but Edythe somehow made it interesting. I wished I could learn, to be able to make sweet melodies the way she did. But I knew I would never match her skill.

As the song wrapped up, she took her hands off the keys and leaned into me on the bench. She put her arm around my waist and pulled me closer. We sat there motionless, our heads leaned together for a while. At midnight, the massive grandfather clock in the other room chimed the hour, and she looked at me with a grin.

"Beau, do you realize what day it is?" she asked.

"Er, it's Tuesday now, I guess. Why do you ask?"

Before Edythe could answer, Archie burst in from the top of the stairs. He had clearly been waiting for this moment.

"It's September thirteenth, Beau! Happy eighteenth birthday!"


	9. GIFT

6\. GIFT

"C'mon, Archie. We all know I stopped aging months ago. I'm not turning eighteen," I complained. But as soon as the words came out, I felt a little guilty shooting down his enthusiasm.

"But does that mean we should pass up an opportunity to cel-ebrate? Not a chance! The last person to really have a birthday around here was Eleanor in 1935. You can have at least one vampire birthday," Archie said without missing a beat.

"So what exactly do you have in mind…? Birthday cake? Balloons?" I mocked him. And still, I knew there wasn't any predicting Archie.

His grin got even wider when he saw the acquiescence on my face.

"Oh, I can't wait to show you!" he cheered enthusiastically like a kid at Christmas.

"Actually," Edythe interrupted. "I wanted to show him my gift first. After all, it's closer."

"Edythe, it's been killing me for days!" he pleaded. "Fine. Rock, paper, scissors," he demanded, holding out his hand with a bemused smile.

Edythe rolled her eyes. "Why don't you just tell me who wins?"

Archie's face went smug. "I do, of course. Now, off we go." He darted out the back door before anyone could delay him any further.

At least Archie was there to show the proper enthusiasm. That definitely was one aspect of myself that didn't get lost in translation. Besides, I think everyone was happier for how much joy this brought to Archie than they actually were for me. I even caught Royal sporting a smile.

"Enjoy it, Beau. It's from all of us," Royal said when he noticed my glance in his direction.

"Are you guys not coming with us?" I asked, looking around at them.

Eleanor let out a laugh that seemed to imply something I was missing. "We thought we'd give you two a chance to, uh… enjoy it alone. You can tell us about it tomorrow." Again, she and Jessamine snickered like I wasn't in on some joke.

"If you say so," I shrugged.

Edythe and I set off, following on Archie's trail. It was merely second nature to follow his scent, not bothering to watch where he'd gone.

When we reached the edge of the forest, he was waiting there for us.

"Don't attack me, please," he warned. Then he jumped onto my back.

"What the…" I demanded as he hoisted himself up and covered my eyes with his hands.

"I'm making sure you can't see," he explained.

"I'm pretty sure I could just close my eyes," I pleaded.

"Nope. We're doing this my way."

I treaded on blindly, and I wasn't really afraid to run into anything. In that event, the tree would be the one getting hurt.

"Oh, by the way," he started. "This is also as much for Edythe as it is for you… just to give you a hint."

"Thank you, Archie," Edythe said.

"Okay, are you ready?"

He said this just I noticed the new unfamiliar scents that didn't normally belong here in the forest. "Er, yeah, I guess I'm ready."

Archie hopped down, releasing his grip on my face. I stared into a darkness that, to mortal eyes, would have concealed whatever was in front of us. But I could see it with no problem.

Here in this tiny clearing was a small, stone cottage. It fit so naturally with the scenery, it seemed as if it had been here for a hundred years. In fact, it looked as though it had grown right out the ground. Thick ivy climbed in complicated patterns up the north wall. Small, flat stones trailed in front of our feet up to the wooden doorway.

"What do you think?" Archie was bursting at the seams. He handed me a small key.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Earnest thought it would be nice for us to have our own place for a while, but to still keep us nearby," Edythe explained.

I went on staring at it because the idea refused to sink in. Our own house?

The joy started to fade from Archie's face. "Don't you like it? I mean, I'm sure we could fix it up differently. In whatever way you'd like! We can add on more space if it's too small. I was thinking about adding on a few more rooms, but Earnest just thought you'd like it more if it was exactly the way it was. But I insisted that we should at least—"

I put my hand over his mouth to shush him.

He put his lips back together and gave me a few more seconds to gather myself.

"You're giving me… a _house_ for my birthday," I stammered.

Edythe corrected me. " _Us_ … and it's really more of a… spare bedroom. We don't have to spend all of our time here. We take turns using it. Normally whoever the most recent newlyweds are will stay a while. It gets remodeled from time to time, depending on the tastes of who currently uses it."

"Way to talk down my house," I murmured.

Archie's face lit up. "So you like it? I can't wait to tell Earnest!"

"How could I not?" I asked.

"Well, we all know how you are about presents… Anyway, the closet is stocked. Don't overwhelm yourself."

"Do I even want to know how big the closet is?"

Archie simply gave me a mischievous glance, and then he shot away like a speeding bullet.

"You kids have fun in there!" I heard him call from beyond the trees.

I felt odd, waiting for the reactions I should anticipate my body to have, but no longer would ever have. I wanted to feel like I was exhausted. Coming to a home at the end of the day made me feel like I should be getting ready for bed.

And when I thought about it, I felt as though this had all just been one long, continuous day, starting when I'd opened my new eyes. This had been the longest day of my life, and really, that day was never going to end. The absence of a sleep cycle really diminished my whole perception of days coming and going, hence my ignorance of the date. I almost laughed out loud at the sudden perspective I had on eternity.

Then Edythe asked the question she never had to ask anyone but me. "So what are you thinking?"

"I was just thinking about us… and how this has sort of been the first day, and the last day, of forever. It's actually hard to wrap my head around, even with all this extra space for thinking."

"Never-ending consciousness can feel that way," she shrugged.

Edythe pulled me inside. The house looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. The floor was a massive mosaic of flat, smooth stones of varying shapes and sizes. About half the walls were made from wood, and the other half were stone. A small fire crackled in the old-fashioned fireplace, its flames burning bluish green. I recognized the driftwood from the ocean.

The furnishings didn't match each other; they were a mixture of different styles and eras, but they somehow harmonized each other in an appealing way. One of the chairs almost seemed medieval, while a lower ottoman by the fire was more contemporary. There was a large carpet stretching down the main hall. A bear rug sat in front of the fireplace.

"I'm betting that's Eleanor's," I said as I pointed at the fur.

"It's a tacky old thing… But yes, it's hers. She has an obsession with bears…"

There was a giant, wooden bookcase at the back of the room stuffed with books, some I guessed were older than the two of us put together. I pulled my book from Charlie's out of my pocket and slid it into a place on one of the shelves. It all seemed to fit together so perfectly. The paintings on the walls were some of the ones I recognized from the main house, but they fit just as well, like they'd always belonged.

This was a place where you could believe magic existed. Like the fantasies of old children's stories. I honestly don't think I would have been surprised if Snow White and the dwarves decided to walk in from the other room. Edythe was just as much a character in a fairy tale to me.

And I was standing in the fantasy beside her.

Edythe broke the silence. "I'm sure you're just _dying_ to see the closet. Or, at least that's what I'll tell Archie."

"Should I worry?" I asked hesitantly.

"You should run now. Run away screaming."

She took my hand and led me down the hallway with a ceiling that made me think of a miniature castle. It led to the only other room in the cottage.

"Carine tried to replicate the room from the island. She knew we'd liked it so much," she explained.

The massive, white bed so closely matched the one from our honeymoon I would have said it was the same one… except for the fact it didn't have chunks missing from it. The walls were the same white, and in the back of the room was a small glass door that looked out into a small garden that was equally as enchanting. Right in the center of the flowers was a small goldfish pond, like our own tiny ocean.

"Wow," was all I could say.

"I know," she said. "Are you ready for your gift from me?" she asked. "Don't worry. It's not another car or anything crazy like that. I know you hate big surprises… Hold out your hand."

She dropped a small, silver necklace into my hand. It had a tiny chain, anchoring to letters of a fancy calligraphy.

— plus que ma propre vie —

"More than my own life," she translated. She looked at me, probing me with her topaz eyes.

I met her gaze and smiled. "I love you, more than _my_ own life," I contended.

Edythe nodded toward the double doors to our left. I braced myself for what I was about to see and stepped in.

The closet was bigger than the bedroom was. In fact, I think this originally was meant as the bedroom, and the other portion the closet. There were more clothes in here than I would have thought possibly to collect in a lifetime. This was the sort of horde that could only belong to an immortal. Hell, it even gave the average apparel store a run for its money just in shear terms of inventory.

I laughed. "What, no checkout counter? No sales associates? No dressing rooms?"

Edythe started to laugh, but it was cut short when my lips interrupted hers.

I pulled my lips free from time to time, getting a few words out on each break. "You know what… We're going to tell Archie…. We spent hours in here… We were trying everything on," I whispered in between breaths. "We're going to _lie_."

She caught my drift in an instant. "And what do you suppose we do instead?" she said as her hands grabbed the shirt around my back.

The next thing I knew was the sound of fabric tearing. Taking our clothes off would have just been too slow. Her clothes, at least, were already destroyed. Oh well. We could always go shopping here in the cottage

We ended up horizontal on the floor, not bothering with the bedroom. Again I felt oddly off balance. I was waiting for reactions my body wasn't capable of anymore. My heart should have been pounding in my throat. My face should have been burning red. My skin was suddenly hypersensitive under her touch, and the electricity shot through me.

At some point, before the sun rose again, I finally broke the silence to ask her something I'd been wondering. "How long could this go on? I mean… Carine and Earnest, Eleanor and Royal, Jessamine and Archie… They don't spend all day naked, secluded in their rooms. They're out in public all the time. This is the only thing I feel like I'll ever want to do. Does it ever let up? I always thought I wouldn't want anything more than blood. But I don't feel that way at all." I squeezed myself tighter to her, emphasizing what I was saying.

She busted out laughing. "Hard to say… Every other newborn vampire is too obsessed with thirst to spend much time doing much else. But you're so different, the rules don't seem to apply to you at all. Eleanor and Royal were the _worst_. After they got married, I couldn't stand to be within five miles of them for a good decade. Why do you think Carine and Earnest built this place for them? They were the first proud owners of the cottage of… love."

"So you're telling me they were just normal again after a few years of this?" I couldn't quite believe that.

"Depends what you could consider normal. For the most part, you've only seen them during the day. But as you pointed out, not having to sleep means there's plenty of room to balance daytime life and… _this._ "

She abruptly took the reign of dominance, which did some interesting things to the way we were connected, putting an end to our conversation.

At the break of dawn, we were lying on the floor in front of the fire. We'd been just staring at each other for hours. I was considering making the suggestion that we should keep to ourselves for today, but Edythe had a different idea.

"I guess we should go make an appearance and tell them how much we love it… Otherwise, they may start to think we're some sort of nymphomaniacs. We don't want to take away the award from Eleanor and Royal…"

I remembered Eleanor's suggestive laughter earlier, and I suddenly understood the joke. I sighed. "Yeah, you're right."

We stepped into our personal shopping mall. Finding something to wear in here could take all day. Everything was wrapped in garment bags. I started peeking through them one by one until Edythe stopped me.

"What are you looking for? I'll help you."

"All I want is some jeans. Where are all the normal clothes?"

She followed some scent to a dresser in the back of the room and opened a drawer, pulling out a pair of expensive-looking blue jeans that were probably designer brand.

I flitted to her side.

"How did you know where they were in all of this?"

"Denim has its own scent just like anything else. You'll learn them all in time," she shrugged. "See if you can find a cotton and polyester blend."

I sniffed, thinking back to the fitted shirts I had worn before and how they smelled. Though I hadn't particularly given the inconsequential scent any thought, I was able to perfectly recall everything. I sifted through the concoction of aromas around me and honed in on the one that matched the one I was thinking of. I went over to the opposite wall and opened a bag. It was made of the material I was looking for, but it was Edythe's.

"You got the scent correct. Nice. But your clothes are mostly located back over here on this half." She was pulling a beige pullover from a bag near her, holding it out to me.

It only took her a second to find the clothes she wanted. And if I hadn't seen her undressed already, I would have said there was nothing more beautiful than Edythe in her charcoal grey hoodie and sweatpants. She smoothed out and parted her crazed hair using only her fingers, and within seconds she looked like she had just returned from a hairdresser. Then she took my hand as we raced along in a dead sprint back to the main house.

"Well, well…" Archie bit his lip. "We started to wonder if you were ever going to come back… but we didn't want to bother you."

Eleanor guffawed, sending vibrations through the house. Even Royal managed a silent laugh.

"So what were you two doing all this time? Discussing the national debt?" Eleanor howled with laughter.

I half expected the blush I should have felt coming. I tried my best to ignore her. I looked up at Earnest. "Thank you, Earnest, so much. It's perfect."

Before he could respond, Eleanor was at it again. "Oh? You mean it's still standing? I figured you two had knocked it to rubble by now!" She threw her head back, dramatically falling onto the couch.

I gritted my teeth and reminded myself that she and Royal probably had plenty experience with breaking houses. I narrowed my eyes at her and growled playfully—at least I think it looked playful.

"It's a little dense," Edythe said to Eleanor, "to be provoking the strongest one in the house. Don't you think?"

"Oooh, scary!" she said mockingly.

Edythe turned to me. "Beau, do you remember during the change, how I mentioned you'd probably be the strongest one in the house for a while?"

It rang a bell. I sifted through the painful, half-mortal memories. I hadn't thought of it ever since. "You're right," I said, my face glowing with the challenge.

Archie let out a long laugh. "Oh! This is gonna be good…"

I took a breath. It was time for Eleanor to become the brunt of the jokes. "Eleanor, how about a little bet?"

She jumped off the couch without hesitation. "Absolutely. Bring it on, brother."

I flashed my teeth in a cocky smile. "You and me. Arm wrestling. Dining room table. Now."

An odd expression suddenly crossed Archie's face. "Um, Beau," he said quickly. "I think Carine is a little fond of that table."

I realized what he was implying.

"He's right," Eleanor smiled. "But I know the perfect place. Follow me."

We went out the back through the garage. There was a rather large boulder in the trees on the edge of the front lawn, and I watched Eleanor head directly for it. I started to follow her into the trees, but then something was suddenly crashing through the branches as it hurdled in my direction. The enormous rock whizzed past me, landing with an earthy thud in the middle of the lawn. It was a little round and irregular, but it looked like it just might work. Eleanor emerged from the trees, dusting her hands off as she admired her work.

She took her position, placing her elbow on the boulder. Even though Eleanor was broad and tall, muscular for a woman, she still didn't look as physically powerful as Archie or Royal. However, I knew that with our kind our outward appearance had little correlation with our abilities. Though we were all strong, everyone knew Eleanor's trademark strength. Rather than some extra talent, she merely got a double dose of whatever made all of us like superman.

I was days away from being six months into my new life. Did I still retain the extra initial power? I remembered now how I'd thought she was the most intimidating of all the Cullens the first time I saw them. I tried to look unconcerned as I placed my elbow down and took her hand.

"Alright," I began. "If I win, no more sex jokes. To anyone. No more innuendos… no anything. Nada."

Her eyes narrowed. "Fine. I win, though, and it gets _a lot_ worse."

Jessamine started the count. "One… two…"

"Three!" Eleanor jumped the gun.

I grunted as she shoved against my prepared hand. And to my surprise, nothing happened.

Of course, I could sense the force she was exerting on my arm, but it wasn't painful or difficult to counter. In my head, I could gauge with almost certainty that if I were to relax, and her hand were able to come down full force, this rock would be rubble.

She turned up the heat then, and I wondered if a runaway train racing down a hill would offer as much resistance. It still wasn't enough to move me, though. It was only beginning to be slightly irritating. It actually felt kind of good to be totally unrestrained from using all this new energy. I'd always had to be so careful not to break things. This was a relief.

She grunted, the veins popping up in her forehead. Her whole body strained and angled toward mine. I'm not sure how long we sat there unmoving.

But at some point I started to get bored. That's when I decided I would turn it up to eleven. She lost a fraction of an inch. I laughed as Eleanor hissed through her teeth.

"Yeah, that poor house is definitely long gone," she said through the strain.

And that comment did it for me. The irritation surged through me and turned into a sort of boost of strength. I smashed her hand down into the boulder with so much force that it shuddered with a loud crack as it collapsed into seven big chunks. One fell on her foot, and I had to laugh. I could hear everyone else's muffled snickers as well. She kicked the piece of rock, and it sailed into the trees.

"Rematch. Tomorrow!" she demanded.

Edythe peeled in laughter. "It's not going to wear off that fast, El."

Eleanor turned and stalked away, crushing another piece of stone in her hand into dust.

Although I knew with almost certainty how this would turn out, from what Edythe had told me, I still had a hard time believing it. I marveled at what had just happened.

I was fascinated by just how much strength I never realized I held. I picked up one of the fragments of boulder and squeezed it between my hands. As it disintegrated into gravel, it was comparable to what it would have previously been like squeezing a big piece of cheese.

"Cool," I marveled.

At that moment, I felt the heat on my skin as the clouds momentarily cleared out of the sun's path. I had only seen myself a handful of times in the direct sun like this; the constant cloud cover made it a rare event. So it almost frightened me every time the explosion of blinding white cast off my skin.

I guess I could say that after eighteen years of being the most mundane kind ordinary, I now found that I could _shine._ And here in this moment, I was finally just as amazed with myself as those around me always seemed to be.

My life as I knew it was long over. But I had been reborn in the most spectacular way. I was so made for this. I was _born_ to be a vampire.

I almost hated the word vampire, because that didn't seem to really describe what we were. Not this little family at least. We got everything that came with being one, without ever actually doing what makes a vampire a vampire. The idea made me want to laugh. Whatever this was, whatever it should be called, I had found my true place in this world within in it—the place I was undoubtedly meant to be.


	10. UNANTICIPATED

7\. UNANTICIPATED

Time passed much more quickly in this body than I felt like it should have. The baseball clearing near the house was unusually quiet today. The first cold front of the fall season had just come through, and the wind was really picking up. Archie had told us it would be a few more months before things really started to get bad, but that the coming winter was going to be one of the most extreme this area had seen in a long time.

Normally, it was just Edythe and me on hunting trips. But this time Royal and Eleanor came with us. I let them run on ahead from where we were; there were a couple of elk nearby from what I could tell.

I stayed behind with Edythe, and we stood there in the cold but pleasant breeze. It was much to my relief that the cold no longer bothered me. This body no longer needed heat to be comfortable, so it was never unpleasant, despite the obvious dip in the thermometer. I simply took on the temperature of my surroundings, and it just felt neutral.

My thoughts these days were always lost on looking at the awesomeness of this new life. I had achieved the highest sense of glory with her.

I routinely searched the mountainside for our prey, or for the possibility of any threat. The latter wasn't a conscious effort; it was just an instinctual thing always running in the background. It was kind of ironic, though, because what could possibly be a threat to the invincible?

But this time there really was a reason for my overprotective senses—some miniscule trigger that my razor-sharp senses caught before I put any conscious thought into it. My eyes scanned over a distant cliff, and against the green background, something stood out.

From this distance, it was like seeing a small fire, where it was the one thing that caught my eye. The blazing red was what demanded my attention.

I focused in on the color that was so oddly out of place. It was so far away that an eagle wouldn't have even spotted it. I stared intensely at it until I could make out what it was.

And he stared back at me.

It wasn't a fire, but intensely red hair. It was pulled back and hanging halfway down his neck. The fact that he was a vampire was obvious. His skin was that characteristic, marble white. The other giveaway was his stillness. He looked like one of those ancient Greek statues. Only an immortal would be able to hold himself so motionless.

He was a total stranger to me. I was almost sure I had never seen him before. But then I realized that I _had_ seen him, just with different eyes that had captured him in a much less abled way, so that he was nearly unrecognizable now.

He had decided to come here after all.

For a half second more I just kept staring back at him. I was just about to open my mouth to say something to Edythe when I noticed his mouth twist the tiniest bit, making him look suddenly hostile. His face was furious, actually.

Reflexively, I opened my hands in an apologetic gesture, and then his jaw unlocked as he growled. By the time the sound reached us after cutting through a couple miles of open air, he had already disappeared into the trees.

And then the pieces started falling into place. Victor had been observing us from afar… who knew for how long, and he'd only just realized I was no longer a fragile, easy target. That explained his sudden anger.

Edythe turned in response to the sound. "What was _tha_ _t_?"

But there was no longer anyone there for her to see.

"Dammit…" I muttered. My mind was already racing. "This couldn't be good."

Before she could ask, Archie and Jessamine suddenly appeared.

"Edythe, it's Victor. He's been watching us," Archie said with wide, worried eyes.

We tried going after him, but he had already gotten too far ahead. His trail disappeared at the river. Archie had grasped that Victor had come to see if we were still around, to see if _I_ was still around, and just how involved was with the Cullens.

Lauren apparently hadn't followed through on her favor.

I'm certain he had searched for Joss for months, and now that he had seen we were all still intact, and I was no longer human… We just confirmed his worst fear once and for all.

"This is all my fault," Archie sighed. "I should have been paying attention. I would have had us hunt somewhere else if I had been just a little faster. What I had seen was Beau's sudden surprise, and then I traced back to foresee the cause."

"There wasn't much you could do," Edythe told him. "We all knew he would turn up again one day."

I insisted that he was connected to the visitor in town. Victor had found a new friend.

Archie kept a close eye on Victor's future after that. He only caught a few glimpses of his immediate course of action, nothing too concrete. He could tell he was never planning to come back here. That's all he could sense. But he explained that the picture seemed obscured somehow, like there were too many other factors coming into play, all influencing the same future.

All we knew for certain was that there was a very angry, savage vampire who had plenty of reason to have a vendetta out for us.

Within a few days, when nothing had become of it, I had all but forgotten the encounter, which was probably stupid.

But today, Archie had seen that there would be a thunder-storm soon. Ironically, it was the first opportunity for baseball since March, the day we'd first run into Joss and Victor. Eleanor insisted that we finish where the game had left off before everything had spiraled so wickedly out of control.

As soon as the downpour started, we headed off to the same clearing. With no human tagging along this time, there was no need for vehicles. We ran the whole way on bare feet. It was so much easier to grip the earth and turn sharply or stop abruptly without anything obstructing your feet.

We were completely drenched by the time we got there, but the rain was a mere drizzle now. At the first crack of thunder, Earnest set the bases out in a half-mile diamond. He resumed his place as referee.

Archie found his spot in the exact center as the pitcher. Jessamine went to crouch at home plate as the catcher. I wasn't exactly sure why they went through the charade of having a catcher; it wasn't like anyone would ever miss the ball. Eleanor, Royal, and Carine's team were still up by one from the time before.

Eleanor was at bat again. This time though, I could easily follow the ball as it hurdled toward her nearly at the speed of sound. The sharp 'ping' of the aluminum bat pierced the air and echoed through the mountainside as the ball shot out like a cannonball through the clearing.

Edythe nodded to me. "That's all you."

I was placed at third base. I flitted off into the trees immediately. I couldn't see the ball past the trees ahead, but I followed the soft sound of the air whooshing around it as it flew.

I'd always had an aversion to sports, and I wasn't even sure exactly what to do in baseball. But that was no problem now. I easily waited where the ball would land and placed my waiting hand exactly where it would intercept. It was like the ball had honed in on my hand and found it rather than the other way around.

Earnest heard the impact it made with my hand. "Out!" he called.

Two outs. Carine went up to bat this time.

I hurled the ball back effortlessly. I heard it snap into Archie's waiting hand seconds later. I resumed my position at third.

Carine played it smart, hitting the ball to the ground just in front of her so no one would catch it. It rolled between Edythe and me as we lunged for it. It was rolling faster than we moved, though. I caught Edythe mid-air and shoved her in the direction of the ball. She landed on top of it and spun around to throw it to Jessamine at first base just a tenth of a second later. Since the catcher's position wasn't exactly necessary, Jessamine was in charge of covering first as well.

Carine reached the first base just as the ball was coming into Jessamine's grasp.

"Safe!" Earnest called.

On Royal's turn, he smashed the ball straight up the center, high and harder than the two before had.

Edythe, obviously knowing where he'd planned the ball to go, jumped straight up to meet the ball a hundred feet off the ground. She slammed back to the earth with a deep thud and flashed her competitive smile. I could tell she liked to pick on Royal in particular. She normally didn't cheat that way.

Royal growled angrily, and I almost felt worried for Edythe. His fists clenched so tightly around the bat it dented in under his palms.

"Aww, come on, babe! It's just a game!" Eleanor called.

I knew one thing for sure. I wasn't going to catch one of Royal's pop-flys anytime soon.

"Guys!" Earnest scolded as he tossed Royal a new bat from his bag. There were at least a dozen in there. "We don't plan to use _all_ of these today, do we?"

We switched places now. Eleanor pitched, Royal caught, and Carine stayed around second base. They let me bat first.

"I'll go easy on you, Beau," Eleanor said with an arrogant smirk.

"Hey, don't make me challenge you to another arm wrestle!" I called.

She hurled the ball at me as soon as the last word hit the air.

I never would have expected that I could somehow make the bat come into contact with that ball. But it just happened.

In fact, I smacked the ball so hard it caused the middle of the bat to cave in. Another casualty.

Rather than Carine chasing after the ball, Royal was suddenly running out from behind me.

I looked at Archie to the side. "Am I out or what?"

"Of course," he said, rolling his eyes. The ball thumped into Royal's hand several seconds later.

None of us scored this inning. Royal was determined to beat Edythe. Carine never even got to touch the ball.

The score went back and forth inning after inning. Edythe and Royal would start bickering at each other every now and then, and Earnest would have to call them to order.

 _"You guys!"_ he would yell when they were almost at each other's throats.

Royal's team was at bat again when the most insane episode of déjà vu occurred: Archie was winding up into one of his graceful pitches again, when all of a sudden, he dropped the ball between his feet.

He held his hand in the air with his fingers still curled as if they were wrapped around the ball. His face went slack, and the expression was almost funny. He looked so confused, it was like he was questioning his whole existence for dropping the ball.

"Um, Carine…?" Archie said, his eyes still not looking at any of us. "You might want get home soon. Ati is going to call…"

"Call about what, Archie?" Carine asked.

Edythe was studying Archie's face, seeing the same thing he was seeing. "That isn't possible. You must have it wrong, Archie."

Archie looked at Carine. "You're never going to believe this."

I wanted them to explain to me what was going on, instead of just hearing the one-sided conversation. The discussion made little sense only hearing her side spoken aloud.

But they didn't explain anything. Archie and Edythe both took off for the house at the same time. Carine was quickly on their heels, and the rest of us just shrugged at each other before we decided to move. I first helped Earnest shove equipment back into bags.

When I came inside the house, Archie was expectantly facing the house phone that sat on the table. He didn't move, and I assumed this meant the call from Ati was about to happen.

 _Ring! Ring! Ring!_

All three of them hesitated like they didn't know what to do with a ringing phone. The phone chimed on, and the annoyance broke through to everyone else.

"Sheesh! Is no one going to get that?" Eleanor complained.

The three of them still stared unsurely at the phone.

Eleanor picked up the receiver, checking the number on the caller ID. "Carine, it is Ati… like he said. Aren't you going to answer it?"

No one moved. Carine surely was informed at this point. And whatever this was about had her hesitant to answer.

Eleanor sighed. "You guys look like you've seen a ghost." Then she shrugged. "I guess I'll answer it."

She pushed the talk button. "Hi, Ati."

"Eleanor! Would you be a dear and be so kind as to put Carine on the phone?" said the familiar alto voice.

"She's right here. Is there a problem?"

"I'm not… one hundred percent sure…"

"Oh my goodness," Eleanor said as she sat up straight. "Are you alright? What's going on?" she asked warily. "I'm assuming there's some reason no one else would pick up the phone. Archie saw whatever it was, you know," she added before Ati would answer the question.

"I'm not exactly sure, you see."

"Carine seems really worried about whatever Archie saw."

"What did he… see?" Ati's voice was full of concern.

"I'm really not sure," Eleanor said nonchalantly. "No one is talking… Here's Carine." She handed the phone to Carine.

It felt like ice water had been injected into my veins. If my heart were beating right now, it would have stopped. Archie had seen something that was bad enough to leave the three of them speechless. But they didn't exactly look scared, so much as confused. I relaxed a little. Could vampires go into shock?

There was a long pause as Carine held the phone in her hand. Then her medically-trained voice took over. "Ati… it's Carine. When was the first day of the last menstrual cycle?"

Ati's accented words came out in a rush over the line. "More than twenty-eight, that's for sure."

Menstrual cycle? Were we talking about a human patient here? Why had everyone gotten so worked up about that?

Carine went on. "How does she feel?"

"Very strange," Ati told her. "Look, Carine… I know this sounds impossible, and it is much too early for any of this, but I swear something just _moved_ inside her. Is it possible?"

I noticed then just how furious Edythe looked. I couldn't connect this conversation to her reaction.

When Carine didn't have anything to say immediately, Ati continued. "Have you ever heard anything like this in all your years of practice? Do you think this is possible?"

Carine finally answered. "Does this woman _know_ with absolute certainty that he was—"

"She knows everything, Carine," Ati broke in. "She was very well informed, telling me everything in great detail… But he left her here at my place and disappeared. I know I am not wrong, but it doesn't feel _right_."

That's when Carine gave the conclusion that I'd already come to. "I think she's pregnant, yes. Tell her not to be afraid. We will be ready when you arrive. We will take care of this, and all will be fine." Carine clicked the phone off.

Take care of this? What did she mean?

Edythe began babbling angrily. "What kind of monster? Who would have the inclination? And then to abandon her like that? Carine, I don't care that we cannot be sure about this. We don't have time to risk letting that thing hurt her. You need to get it out immediately."

Edythe had just called a baby a _thing_ , and Carine said she would take care of it.

"I don't understand," I finally whispered. "What is _wrong_ here?"

Carine had formulated a scientific explanation at this point, and dove straight into it. "Well, I'm not saying such a thing is possible, but Ati has found a woman who has allegedly become pregnant with a vampire."

She paused to let the words sink in for everyone else who was just now being let in on the secret.

I couldn't even begin to understand how… But it must have been true. Must have been real. Surprising, absolutely. Astonishing, yes. But wrong? I couldn't see it.

Carine continued. "When we think about what we do know, it involves the great deal of change that occurs over the course of pregnancy, which we are not capable of. That much is true. But I can't be sure about men being capable of fertility. I speculate since males have no finite child-bearing years or cycles of fertility… And of course, how would anyone know? If we as their partners have always been unable? And who on earth would have the restraint necessary to be that physically close with a human?"

I shot a bewildered glance over at Edythe's face. Well, I guess I could think of _one_ instance.

Likewise, everyone else turned to look at Edythe, then to me. If Edythe had been able to be so close to me as a human… We surely weren't the only couple like that in the world. And had she been the guy, and I the girl… The scenario made perfect sense to me.

"Edythe… We have to consider what a spectacle Ati has discovered. I can run CAT scans, MRIs, x-rays…"

Edythe interjected. "Carine, you can't possibly find that line of inquiry to be ethical. This is borderline human experimentation. If that thing is half us, you know what will happen…"

Carine didn't answer because I assumed she knew what was most likely, given the knowledge she held.

It looked like the vampire world, along with my current understanding of mythology, was changing once again.

I still couldn't figure out what was making Edythe so pissed off.

"You're going to have to get that thing out of her, Carine," Edythe demanded again. "You know what it will do to her. It will probably end up killing itself in the process anyway."

Carine paced the floor in the front room for a few times. "I know the danger just as well as you do, Edythe. But I can't force someone to abort. If this woman truly wants to go through with this…"

"Of course she will," Edythe snapped. "Because she doesn't understand the implications of what's happening. The unknown is too great a risk. And who knows what that thing will become? You've heard the ancient legends of the Libishomen. This couldn't end well."

Carine's outlook on the problem was somewhat hopeful, or at least inquisitive. I could tell that Edythe however, was staunchly repulsed by the idea. Because anything that had to do with the vampire world intersecting with the human world sickened her.

"We will have to discuss it when they arrive. There is so much we don't know."

Beyond the obvious questions, I wondered why Ati, who was a normal vampire, cared about this human in the first place. But then Carine explained how Ati was naturally curious to all things dealing with the supernatural, especially with a new development like this. She also explained Ati and her small coven had chosen not to hunt in the vicinity of Cairo, out of respect for their home city. Ati had lived in the same place since the city's foundation over three thousand years ago during the Fatimid dynasty.

All we could do was wait for their arrival, which would probably take another sixteen hours. It was a long journey for a human, and Ati had mentioned she was ill.

When the Egyptians arrived the next afternoon, they rolled up in a sleek black car with darkly tinted windows.

"Hello, Ati," Carine greeted as the car doors opened. "How was your flight?"

Ati sighed. "It was very difficult. She has been very sick since yesterday. She spent most of the trip in the lavatory."

Then I heard the human's voice from inside the car, cracked and rough, more so than should be expected from the weaker species. She was muttering something in another language… Arabic, I assumed.

"Do you have a bed for her to lie down?" Ati asked.

"Of course," Carine smiled. "Let's get her inside."

When Ati pulled the woman out of the car, I couldn't help but notice her striking resemblance to the vampires, just obviously darker in complexion. They could have been related.

As the woman stood up straight, I froze in astonishment. She was already visibly _pregnant_.

I'd known how certain Ati sounded over the phone, but some part of me didn't actually believe it. I hadn't expected to see any evidence of it at all.

How long had this been going on? I thought she had just found out only yesterday. The bump wasn't so prominent that it would be noticeable to a human. But it was undeniable that there was _something_ foreign in her lower abdomen.

The darker-skinned woman seemed uneasy, unsteady on her feet. Ati balanced her as she started to step away from the car.

"My… name is… Huilén." The woman picked her English carefully in her heavy accent.

It was strange because I'd assumed she knew what we were, that she wouldn't be so comfortable around us. But she spoke to us like we were all human. Did she already trust Ati that much to automatically trust all of her vampire friends as well?

Then I realized—had I not been the same way? This woman and I had a lot more in common than I thought.

Once Huilén was in a bed upstairs, Carine began discussing the problems she anticipated with Ati. I could tell this was going to be particularly tricky because everything needed to be translated into Arabic. But she seemed to not be surprised at the news. Her expression was… apologetic somehow.

"How are you feeling?" Carine asked. "Are you in any pain?"

Ati repeated in Arabic, but before the woman answered, she tapped Ati on the shoulder. Ati quickly snatched a basin from under the bed and held it under Huilén's chin just in time for her to vomit noisily into it.

That answered the question.

"Ati, if she is already this sick immediately, I'm afraid the outlook of the later stages isn't all that great," Carine admitted. "We don't even know that the fetus will be compatible with her body. Have you tried at all talking her out of it?"

Ati's answer came quickly. "Yes, I have. She will not listen, no matter what you tell her. She has already made up her mind."

I was fairly certain Huilén couldn't understand most of what they were saying, but she noticed the worried tone of their voices. She muttered something pleadingly to Ati.

Ati turned back to Carine. "She wants you to know she does not care how great the risk, she wants this child to have a chance at life."

Edythe interjected. "Tell her she can conceive again later. The procedure won't harm her. Make sure she knows that _this_ fetus can't be carried."

"I've already given her all the options," Ati said as she shook her head. "She says she wants _this_ child."

None of it made sense from that standpoint. Why would the woman put herself in danger to have a child she wouldn't live to see?

Edythe remained adamant. "Tell her that the _child_ could very well die along with her, then all of it would be for nothing. All we have are old Native American legends, none of which end very well for the mothers who—"

"I won't tell her that." Ati's voice came out harsh. "This is her life, and such is the life within her womb. This is her desire. She wants to give it a chance, at least. I can't force her will away from her."

"I don't want to stick around here to watch this woman die, Ati," Edythe said sternly. "Especially when we know perfectly well what—"

"I don't want that either," Carine said, cutting her off. "But Ati is right. We can't take her free will from her, even though it may very well be in her best interest to do so…"

I could see that Edythe didn't even want to imagine what was taking root inside this human right now. The very sort of thing she despised being herself was growing inside this woman's body, and from the sound of things, its first victim would probably be its mother.

If that were true, I didn't want to see that either.

I still couldn't believe enough of what I saw, though, to fully understand it. I knew she was pregnant. But she couldn't be _that_ pregnant. And she was so ill already; her eyes had massive dark circles under them. Her skin, though it was tan, had a lack of the flush that people normally had. She looked a little too skinny, like she was malnourished. The smell of her blood wasn't nearly as appealing as it should have been, which surprised me. It was like whatever was inside of her was already stealing her life to feed its own…

And I knew Edythe believed it was a monster, just like its father.

Benji and Tiago remained quietly in the corner of the room, keeping their safe distance from Huilén. Benji had her arms around her knees, and Tiago rested one arm over her shoulders. My guess was that she was rather uncomfortable with the situation as well.

When Carine decided she should attempt an ultrasound right away, she was disappointed to find that absolutely nothing came up on the screen.

"Hmm… It seems the fetus is extremely well protected," she murmured as she examined the monitor.

"Why is there nothing to see?" Ati asked, just as perplexed.

Carine took the wand off the woman's stomach and pressed it to her own body. The screen went black again.

"Ultrasonic waves can't penetrate our skin," Carine explained matter-of-factly. "This amniotic sack seems to have similarities to vampire skin, so that's a convincing confirmation. And I doubt there is any way to get a needle through it either. I bet it's impenetrable."

"A needle? "Ati questioned.

"The more I can find out about the fetus, the better I can determine its characteristics. Even just a little bit of amniotic fluid would give me exponentially more information to work with than what we currently have. If I knew just the chromosomal count…"

Ati's eyes lit up with curiosity. "What would that tell you?"

"Our species are completely different," Carine explained. "Humans have twenty-three chromosomal pairs in their DNA. We have twenty-five. So my assumption is that our gametes would be incompatible for conception. But if this new life happened to be a crossover between the two, which would be twenty-four pairs… Well, it would suggest that we're more genetically compatible than I'd thought, and that this truly is what we think it is. Half human, half vampire." Carine sighed then. "And maybe it wouldn't help anything to know. I just wish I had something to research. I need something to do while we wait this out."

"Would you like for me to see if she will allow you to attempt this sample collection?" Ati asked.

"Yes, please."

Ati spoke quickly to Huilén, giving tenderness to certain parts of what she was saying, then becoming more intense.

Huilén looked almost angry at first, and her words were strained as she asked Ati something, to which Ati calmly replied. I had no idea what she said, but it sounded rather encouraging. The woman smiled and looked at Carine.

"Will…" Huilén began, carefully formulating her broken English, "this show… boy? Girl?"

Carine nodded with a warm smile. "Hopefully." Then she disappeared into one of the large closets in the makeshift hospital room, grabbing supplies. She returned with a tray containing two syringes, one large and one small.

"Tell her I am going to numb the injection site first," Carine instructed.

Ati murmured in Arabic again. Huilén nodded.

Carine flicked the side of the small injection and pushed out an air bubble. Then she slowly inserted the thin needle at an angle just under the woman's skin on her stomach and pressed the plunger to administer the anesthetic.

The woman winced slightly at the prick, but she relaxed just a few seconds later.

Carine waited then for the drug to take effect, as she unwrapped the much larger, more intimidating needle that was probably five times wider in diameter.

Huilén's eyes grew wide as she took in the size of the amniocentesis syringe. I didn't blame her. Of course, the needle would never find purchase in my own skin, but I still didn't even like the sight of it.

That's when I realized something.

Carine's original assumption was probably true. If this thing was half vampire, the sac surrounding was probably made of some membrane similar to our skin. There was no way this needle would go through it.

And we were right.

As soon as Carine pushed the needle down through the first few layers of skin of the woman's abdomen, it halted abruptly, and there was an audible 'plink' sound as if she'd struck metal.

What happened next made me jump back in shock.

The woman's tiny baby bump flinched violently in response to the prick. How could it cause that much motion when it was so _small_?

Edythe looked just as surprised, then she glanced at me to get my reaction to all of this.

 _What the hell?_ I mouthed silently to her.

Carine had quickly retracted the needle as she tried not to look as horrified as I felt. Huilén's face was alarmed, and then she started shouting something in Arabic.

Ati started trying to console the woman, who wouldn't relent until the fetus gave one more small kick as if to announce its wellbeing. She relaxed back into the hospital bed.

"Just as I thought," Carine sighed.

"It's almost like magic, isn't it?" Ati wondered aloud. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo…"

Carine laughed warily.

Edythe just glared disapprovingly at both of them for a moment, then she started pulling my arm.

"Walk with me?" she whispered.

As we were making our way down the stairs, I heard two pairs of footsteps following us.

"Do you mind if we join you?" Benji asked.


	11. IMPOSSIBILITY

8\. IMPOSSIBILITY

"This is beyond irresponsible. I can't believe Carine has gotten involved with this in any way other than to help that poor woman!" Edythe began spouting. We were out on the lawn now, some distance from the house.

I took her hand. "It's going to be okay, Edythe. We'll find a solution."

"No. I can't watch this. I don't want to see any possible outcome. If this _baby_ lives, I'm certain Huilén won't. That means we face having a motherless child. A child we know nothing about, or what it will be like. Just another thing to add to the list of how _wrong_ all of this is. She'll have to choose between death and vampire life, I'm sure. Or they'll simply both die. There just isn't a viable option."

I couldn't entirely understand Edythe's blatantly repulsed reaction. I mean, I could see the danger and all, but no one had the right to take away the thing or what she wanted to do with her life.

Benji shared in Edythe's opinion. "I'm afraid I'm just as disturbed as you, my friend. I'm disappointed in Ati… It makes me question the positive opinion I've always held of her. I doubt her intentions are honorable."

Edythe nodded as she understood all of the implications in the girl's thoughts.

I looked at her questioningly, waiting for some explanation.

Benji thought about something for a moment, then she raised her hands to work up a stiff breeze behind us in the direction of the house, rustling all of the surrounding trees.

It took me a moment to realize what she was doing; she was creating noise to make sure Ati wouldn't be able to hear what she was about to say.

"I have no other way to see it. In any other circumstance, Ati should have no regard for a human's life. But now that Huilén has become something so rare, Ati is suddenly intent on protecting her and her desires. This has made me begin to wonder if Ati would have saved me in the first place, had I not been so intriguing to her."

She nodded in the direction of the air currents swirling around the house with a resentful look. Tiago put his hand on her back gently to comfort her. She looked genuinely dejected.

In the back of my mind, it had always been relatively obvious to me. This was how the vampire world worked, wasn't it? Why else would an immortal go through all the effort to keep someone? The human always had to be of use to him or her somehow… _Or_ wasn't able to live without that person.

I realized then that Benji had likely always remained optimistic about whatever reason Ati had taken her in. She'd probably thought it was purely out of the goodness of the ancient woman's heart.

I didn't have to wonder about her story for long, though, because she quickly told me every bit of how she and Tiago had come to be with Ati and Kalil. And the story was fascinating, to say the least.

Benji told of how she had grown up there, in the slums of Cairo at the beginning of the nineteenth century. She'd lost her mother as a child and had never known her father. She was handed around from various family members all throughout her childhood—whoever was able to feed her at the current time. Eventually, though, she ended up with her great uncle, a street performer who liked to take in suffering children and teach them to dance or sing, sell trinkets, pick pockets… anything to make him money.

It was when this uncle discovered Benji's strange ability to manipulate fire that she instantly became his favorite. She'd explained how as a human, her gift was a meager influence over fire only. She couldn't start one from nothing like she could now, but she could guide the way it moved or grew with her mind.

I was stunned. "How does that happen? I mean, where does such a thing come from?"

"I had a… distant cousin, you could call him, who experimented with a sort of witchcraft. I didn't believe anything he'd told me about granting the power of fire, so I'd let him do his sorcery on me. I'm not able to remember exactly how it was done, but I thought I'd been cursed by the devil when I discovered I was able to make a candle flicker with my mind. I generally kept it hidden from others. I knew that people would accuse me of having sold my soul to Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun."

"Her uncle then found me sometime later," Tiago started in. "Benji and I immediately connected with each other, though I was younger. We quickly became very close. I always looked out for her, and she looked out for me. We confided with one another more than anyone else, like brother and sister. When Benji was fifteen, and I was twelve, we decided to run away together."

"Ati got word then of the girl who controlled fire," Benji said. "She came and observed the show one night. And she didn't hesitate. She took me away that night and killed my uncle."

Benji explained that she was kept hidden in their dwelling. She was never allowed to leave. Ati and Kalil would bring her humans, so there was no chance anyone would ever mention her gifts to the Volturi. Ati had been honest with her to an extent, making sure she understood the danger she was in; how the Volturi would surely snatch her away if they ever discovered her and enslave her.

But Ati had never told her exactly why she'd stolen her in the first place from the uncle that night. She'd begun to grow wary and thought more and more about young Tiago as time went on. Eventually, she'd trapped Ati and Kalil with a rockslide so that she could escape to find Tiago.

Five years had passed, and Tiago was now physically older than Benji, but she still was able to recognize him from the dark memories as she found him nearby, trapped as a house slave for a royal family. Despite the fact that he seemed safe, he was still elated to find Benji and wanted to fulfill their original plan of running away together.

That's when Benji told him everything, explaining what she had become, and what she could do now. Tiago was amazed by her, not repulsed, just as I was. He'd begged her to give him immortality as well so they could be together. Benji very nearly killed him, but he miraculously survived to become a vampire.

Ati was enraged at first when Benji had returned to her with the boy, but it was soon clear that no harm had been done, and no one had discovered the girl's talents. She figured Ati saw that her one last tie to the human world had been removed, and that would actually keep them safer.

This incident proved how Benji was adept to assimilate into the outside world. That's when they began to live more normally, though they still maintain a great amount of secrecy. To this day no one knows what Benji can do other than the Cullens and Denalis, and that was only because it was impossible to keep the secret away from Edythe and Elena.

"For the first time, I was content with our small coven because I had gotten Tiago back," Benji said. "I guess I just stopped questioning Ati's motives because I was satisfied with life at that point. But now I wonder if she only turned me because she saw me as an asset. The Volturi destroyed the rest of her coven long before I was born, and she's always held resentment for them. She probably sees me as some way to sneak up on the Italians and act out her revenge. Apparently, I'm a hot commodity. I'm not sure if I will truly ever be _free_."

"She still sees you as her own daughter," Edythe assured her. "You're the center of her world. She loves you just as much as she loves Kalil."

I wasn't entirely sure if this was actually true, or if Edythe was only trying to make her feel better. Either way, it was needless to say my respect for one of the world's oldest vampires had diminished significantly now.

I could imagine her now, using this unborn child—whatever it might become—as another surprise to throw at the Volturi. I could picture Ati imagining all the possibilities of the special powers such a being could possess. If I were her, though, I would never in a million years dream of going and knocking on the Volturi's door.

When we came back to the matter at hand, Edythe was still determined to change Huilén's mind. No vampire-human hybrid was going to exist, so long as Edythe had anything to do with it.

"Maybe we _could_ offer her something similar to what she wants," she wondered out loud.

"Like what?" I asked.

"I don't care what it takes, because I'm not going to stand by and let this happen," she said, suddenly focused now. "If she insists on having a supernatural baby… Maybe we could talk one of the Quileute boys into—"

"Edythe," I glared.

"I'm serious, Beau. She can have puppies for all I care…"

I slapped my palm to my forehead. "I'm pretty sure that's not how that works."

She sighed. "Yes, I'm aware of that, but you know what I mean. Maybe she'd like the idea of a werewolf child. Hell, she can have six of them. Just not one of these."

A hard scowl came across my face as I processed the words, and she met my disapproval.

"You can't tell me you're okay with this," she scoffed. "Beau, please tell me you don't see that thing as anything other than a monster."

"I don't agree with it either, Edythe! But I don't entirely agree with _you_ either. Carine is right. We can't force her to do anything. It's her life. Just imagine if you had taken all choices away from me. I wouldn't be here right now. You have to let people do what they—"

"But not like this!" she snapped before I could finish. "This _thing_ is sucking the life out of her as we speak, and we're just going to stand there and watch helplessly? I don't think so. We're Cullens; we're supposed to protect as many lives as possible, not allow someone to sicken away and eventually die. Sometimes people don't know what's best for them, and we have to step in and make choices for them. We _have_ to make her see reason, Beau."

"Your biggest problem is Ati's hidden motivation," Benji added. "She's feeding the woman's insanity, encouraging her… protecting her. No, protecting _it_. I doubt Huilén's life means anything at all to her." Her black eyes were wholeheartedly resentful as she spoke.

It felt as though… I didn't know what, really. Like this wasn't real. It was as if I was in some Goth version of a bad TV series. One where the girl shacks up with the vampire, and then someone else wants to ask the werewolf to procreate with her instead, but there's this crazy woman intervening to protect the demon child because she thinks it might help her get revenge on some enemy clan.

Making jokes about it wasn't going to solve anything, though.

And that's when I realized the danger… The outside danger. From _it_.

I could picture it now… This thing was part vampire, right? So what if when it came down to it, the thing came ripping out of that woman's stomach and evaded our grasp? What if it ran off to slaughter the entire town in a bloodthirsty rage? I pictured the red-eyed immortal child of Archie's story and shuddered.

My thoughts were interrupted by a strange sound. A rustling in the distant trees, accompanied by several loudly beating hearts.

What were the wolves doing here?

"You've got to be kidding me," Edythe muttered, closing her eyes tightly. "Benji, Tiago… Go back inside. I'll take care of this."

The Quileutes had come to investigate. A trail of unfamiliar vampire scent had undoubtedly crossed their perimeter and led them here.

There were five wolves, slowly walking together in a tense formation toward us. They didn't look any happier the second time meeting us, I guessed because of all the new and unwelcome vampire scents. I couldn't help but think what a shame it was how one-sided this prejudice was between our two sides. The feelings were clearly not reciprocated, but they never seemed to care.

Someone on two legs stepped out from behind them.

I remembered then how they needed one member to remain in human form to be able to communicate with us. And then I recognized the face—Julie Black.

I almost thought I was mistaken at first. It had only been several months since I had last seen her, but she was hardly the same person now. She was supposed to have been almost two years younger than I was, yet she suddenly looked older than I did. The planes of her face had hardened slightly, tighter… aged. She was a bit taller now, and her neck and shoulders were different somehow. Thicker like Eleanor.

But this wasn't what made her unrecognizable. What changed the most was the expression on her face. The open, friendly smile that had once made her so easy to talk with was long gone. As was the childlike warmth in her dark eyes. Now a deep-seated, brooding resentment took its place. The hatred for what we all were… and what I was now.

Julie, the friend I'd once felt such an instant connection to. I remembered how I'd been more comfortable with her on the first day I'd met her than I'd ever been with any of my cafeteria friends. It was like she was the only human I'd really ever been able to relate to.

And it turns out she wasn't even human. I never would have seen that one coming. With Edythe, there hadn't been a single moment where I wasn't aware she was _something_ outside the confines of ordinary, so it wasn't a surprise to find out what she was. But _Jules?_

Apparently, stumbling across one myth wasn't enough for me. And just what did that say about me? I must have been like a magnet that sucked in every impossible fairy tale that wandered around the borders of tiny, insignificant towns. Pretty soon, I'd find out McKayla Newton was secretly a witch, Taylor Crowley lived as a mermaid, and Jeremy Stanley had become a zombie.

I braced myself as I usually did around humans, preparing my brain to be drawn-in, but those sensations never came. She didn't smell any more appealing than the animals we hunted. Though the sound of her heart beating was appealing, the animal edge to the smell that came with it was offsetting. Her scent was almost repulsive.

Julie immediately focused on me, and she glanced me over carefully, only half-recognizing the person she was looking at.

"I guess it really is you, Beau. Alive and well after all… sort of," she said in an uncomfortable voice. She even sounded older.

"Back from the dead, and still me. I'm so glad that you're able to know the truth now," I said.

"I can't say I like the idea of you becoming a bloodsucker, but I guess I'm happy that it means you didn't really die. But, dude, you are super creepy. Worse than I was expecting," she said, half smiling. "Is it too late to say my mom told you so?"

"Er, thanks. I think… And I knew what I was getting myself into. This is what I would have wanted in the end."

Julie cringed, shaking her head. She still looked at me with uncertainty. I could tell she didn't trust me. I suppose her natural instincts overruled any friendship she previously felt towards me. But if I had to take a guess, I would say that she was sad about that fact.

"There are other vampires in the area. They are with you? Why?" she asked, her expression was disapproving.

"Yes," Edythe replied. "Some old friends of ours are visiting."

"Why?" she pressed on. "Why here? If your friends are not like you, why would you put this area at risk?"

Edythe gave me a quick look like she was expecting me to come up with some excuse.

"We're sorry," Edythe said quickly. "We didn't realize they were coming today."

Julie shrugged. "Well, take care of it. We need you to get them out of here. Don't let them hunt in this area. They'll be smart to give La Push a wide berth, too."

"Right," Edythe nodded.

"We'll be on our way."

As the wolves turned to leave, all of them turned their heads in the direction of a sound from the house. The front door had opened.

And there was Ati and Carine, standing next to Huilén.

Freaking great…

"There is a human here," Julie said as she turned back to Edythe. "Why?"

Edythe lied quickly. "She's seeing Carine. She's out of the office today, and it was urgent."

"Urgent?"

The images of destruction came back into my mind then. Maybe the wolves should know…

"Edythe, I think we should just tell—"

"No." Her voice was hard.

"Tell us what, Beau?" Julie inquired.

Edythe glared at me so intensely it brought me up speechless. If looks could kill.

But the pack had a right to know. If this thing had a potential for danger, this went beyond just being our personal problem. People's lives were at risk. What if the situation did get out of our hands?

I gritted my teeth. "There's something I think you should know."

When I dropped the whole human-pregnant-with-vampire bombshell before Edythe could do anything to stop me, all five wolves growled in agitation.

Julie scoffed. "What? Is this some sort of sick joke? I mean, who's going to believe that, right? It's not like one of you guys could… do _that_ with a girl anyway…" she trailed off.

When neither of us said anything. Julie's frown deepened. "Oh, come on… You can't be serious, Beau."

I bit my bottom lip and nodded.

Jules's words flew out quickly. "Wait, what the hell? That's actually possible? There's really a demon kid in there? Then what are you waiting for? Cut it out of her!"

"It isn't my place to interfere, apparently," Edythe said, crossing her arms.

"So why hasn't the doctor done anything?" Julie asked irritated. "Tell her to get it out of her!"

I felt like we were explaining it for the tenth time now.

" _She_ won't let her. Neither will Ati," Edythe said.

Julie answered Edythe in an annoyed voice. "What do you mean the woman won't _let_ you? Did you ever notice you're a hundred times stronger than people are? How stupid are you vamps? Hold her down and knock her ass out with drugs or something. And as for the vamp, your kind can be put back together somehow, right? Just turn her into a jigsaw puzzle while you take care of the thing."

"Believe me. I want to," Edythe sighed. "But Carine would never allow that."

Julie laughed sarcastically. "What? She's too noble or something?"

"Carine is backing the woman up as well. She won't go against her free will. So is Beau."

Julie looked at me accusingly, but her eyes were more forgiving than when she looked at Edythe. "You shouldn't be giving her 'free will' with this, though."

"Believe me. I know," Edythe said.

"So Carine isn't going to do anything to stop it? Even if the human gets ripped apart in the process? What happened to being all about saving people? And why the hell did that lady get with one of them in the first place?"

Julie's face twisted in disgust. She eyed me uneasily then, remembering how I'd basically done the same thing.

"Oh, they're out there," Edythe answered tensely. "The sadistic ones… the incubus… the succubus. But seduction is merely a prelude to the feast. I think that's what this was. But no one ever _survives_. Why he left this woman alive is a mystery."

Julie shut her eyes and shook her head, revolted by the thought. "Your kind… are totally sickening. Well, if _you_ don't stop this madness, the pack is certainly going to. The treaty definitely doesn't allow this. This puts everyone in danger. It has to be taken care of before it's too late. Just wait until the elders hear this…"

"And just what do you expect to do about it?" Edythe interrogated in annoyance. "You do realize you'll kill the human too if you kill it…"

"The safety of our families, of everyone here, is more important than one human. Our goal is to protect as many people as possible," Julie explained.

"Julie, please," Edythe begged. "I need you to explain this to the others without upsetting them. I don't want any sort of altercation with my family. Even if Carine is protecting this woman's will, my family will protect Carine no matter what. You do realize that we outnumber you. The best I can offer is request that the tribe hold off on this until it is born, then you can intervene however you please if that becomes necessary. But don't act too hastily here. The situation is already enough trepidation for us as it is."

Julie's face was an unreadable mask as she knew she'd been thwarted. "Alright. I'll try my best. But Sam is the alpha, so whatever she decides goes."

Edythe nodded. "I understand. Please do your best to convince her."

"Thank you for telling me, at least, Beau," she nodded as she turned and ran off into the trees. I heard the explosion of ripping fabric as she phased into wolf form beyond the trees.

Edythe stared at me, waiting for the apology. "Beau, what the hell were you thinking? You'll have a whole damn pack of wolves coming down on our heads…"

Just then, a scream erupted from the house.

Edythe and I gave one quick, concerned look at each other. Then we were off.

It looked like the situation was only going to get more and more critical as time went on. And my subconscious told me I should worry… that I should be very afraid.

Later that night, Edythe and I were lounging in the front room of our tiny house, the fireplace crackling. When I had tried discussing the matter of the broken rib further with her, she shut it down. She didn't want to talk about it anymore, so I let it go.

I couldn't shake the images from my head.

On the one hand, the idea of an actual vampire growing inside a person, readying itself to tear apart its first helpless victim… On the other, I pictured the pale, angelic face of an innocent baby, and Edythe and Carine trying to destroy it.

The thought hurt. The two alternatives were almost impossible to reconcile. And still, I realized I had already subconsciously made up my mind.

How could I blame the true nature of an unborn, undeveloped creature for killing someone, when I wouldn't have blamed Edythe if she'd happened to have slipped up and killed me? I remembered how I'd decided that she couldn't help but be what she was, how I was more than okay with that.

This baby couldn't help what it was any more than the rest of us could.

I thought about Royal then, the pain and resentment he held for all the things he felt were taken away from him, including the chance to have children of his own. I never really understood that part, at least. Children, in the abstract, didn't appeal to me in the slightest. Kids were so loud, so messy and demanding.

In the past, when I'd dreamed of not being an only child, I'd always wanted an _older_ brother or sister. Someone who could take care of me, rather than the other way around.

But this child… What if I were the only one willing to take care of it? The only one willing to stand up for its right to live? Royal and Ati were on board, I'm sure. I kept picturing Edythe not caring about it at all, seeing her wanting to hurt it.

What could I do? Would I be able to reason with them to protect it so that it could live? I wouldn't allow it. This child had to live.

"Edythe—"

"Yes?"

I had to think for a second, trying to get myself a few minutes alone. "Do you think you could… go get us some reading materials? I think it might do some good to take our mind off things."

"Of course," she said, and her eyes were suddenly soft for the first time in a long time. "What did you have in mind?"

I shrugged. "You pick. Show me your favorites. Throw in some poetry while you're at it, too."

She nodded and left the room.

I ran over and scooped up the cell phone she'd left on the coffee table. I flipped it open and scrolled through the preprogrammed numbers. I found the one I was looking for, the one I never thought I'd ever be calling. I pushed the dial button.

"Hello?" his smooth, golden voice answered.

"Royal," I said nervously. "I need your help."

I'd barely hung up the phone in time for Edythe to return to show me her favorite books and poetry she had discovered over time. We went into lengthy discussions about her analysis of each work and why it meant something significant to her. Her philosophies were fascinating to hear.

There was nothing I could ever really introduce her to in return because she'd already read virtually anything I could think of. She'd read almost everything a person could possibly read, given she'd been continuously awake for more than eighty years.

Tonight, she was reading from her favorite poems by Robert Frost. She read from the page, though I'm not exactly sure why. It must have been the novelty of reading from a book. Because I knew for a fact that if she had ever seen the words before, they were committed perfectly to her memory. It wouldn't surprise me if she could recite entire plays by Shakespeare.

" _Some say the world will end in fire_ ," she began reading. " _Some say in ice._ _From what I've tasted of desire_ , _I hold with those who favor fire._ _But if it had to perish twice,_ _I think I know enough of hate_ _to say that for destruction,_ _ice is also great… and would suffice._ "

"What do you think it means?" she asked me as she put the book down.

"It's an analogy… Desire is fire, and ice is like hate? Am I right?"

"Yes, but I wasn't referring to the symbolism," she clarified. "The questions it raises."

"Oh, um, I don't really know. I'm not one to really think of the apocalypse. Especially not the end of a world that _you_ live in. That can't happen." I cringed away from the idea.

"It's inevitable, though, Beau. Maybe not for another million years, but it will happen someday. You know, like Murphy's Law… Nonetheless, I'd have to say I would wager towards the ice version."

"And why is that?"

"I like to think it's most likely the end will be caused by some force of evil. If we're known as the cold ones, we're like the ice. To me, ice represents that evil, destructive force," she explained.

I sighed. "Edythe, I've said it a million times. You're not evil. None of us are. At least not _our_ family. Evil is something you choose to be. It isn't an inherited quality." I put considerable emphasis on the last statement.

She sighed. "That's debatable."

"Anyway, what about fire? Isn't that destructive? I would think fire is most known for the destruction it causes. And in the poem, it symbolizes desire. Which, with humanity, the pursuit of desire is the root of a lot of problems. It reminds me of that stanza from _Romeo and Juliet_ about how the intense desire of their relationship ultimately led to their demise."

She knew immediately what I was talking about. The words were coming out of her mouth in a whisper.

 _"These violent delights have violent ends,_

 _And in their triumph die,_

 _Like fire and powder,_

 _Which, as they kiss, consume._ "

I thought only then about how Shakespeare had gotten it wrong; the most violent delight in the world was right here in this room, and it would never come to an end. This triumph would last forever.

But, obviously for Shakespeare, he never would have considered this sort of scenario. I still couldn't help but resent him for the pessimistic sentiment of that part. After everything I'd witnessed, I was a firm believer that some things never die.

It got me started in on creation again. "I know we've talked about it before, but… it drives me crazy not knowing. Where did it begin? The vampire race, I mean. Like, if becoming a vampire requires a bite from another vampire, how did the first vampire ever become one?"

She laughed. "Well, what came first? The chicken or the egg? I think both of those examples carry the same principle. _Something_ had to have created the first immortal. There's no evidence around to point us to what that was, but when you become part of the supernatural world, you start to pay a lot more attention to mythology. Especially Carine. She's done centuries of research into things like this. She and Ati actually have an ongoing theory about your question."

I sat up quickly. "No way. You have to tell me."

"Ati is the oldest vampire Carine knows. And Ati doesn't think there is anyone still around older than herself. The coven she originated from was destroyed long ago. As far as they know, she is one of the oldest immortals remaining today. She's been around even longer than the Volturi."

"Just how old is she?" I asked. I was amazed at the thought of this.

"She doesn't know exactly when she was born, or when she was turned. Common people didn't keep track of time in those days, but from historical context, she estimates that she was born sometime around 2,500 B.C. in the Nile River Valley, which is where it is believed the human race began."

"Holy shit…" I whispered breathlessly. I couldn't even begin to wrap my head around the idea. This meant Ati had to be at least _forty-five hundred_ years old…

Edythe went on. "I know. It's insane, that span of time. I can barely fathom that much time. She had a creator, of course, so we know we were around before then. But she and Kalil are the only remaining members of her original coven. The Volturi killed the rest of them, but that's a story for another time. The point is that Ati knows firsthand what the world was like back then, and she can confirm that many of the stories of witchcraft and magic aren't entirely fictional. She believes something along those lines is the force behind what started the vampire race. Carine tends to agree with her. They presume there was some sort of original vampire in the beginning, the progenitor, who came to be that way without the bite. And the curse has been passed on by his or her bite ever since. Whether the original vampire became this by choice, we'll never know. This person probably sold their soul to the devil or something to gain immortality. And passed that curse down to the rest of us."

I turned to her. "Oh, shut up. You know that isn't true. You, your family, the Denali clan, Carine… You definitely have souls."

"I know that's what you believe, but to me, sin has a way of catching up with everyone in the end. You get all the beauty and immortality, but you lose your soul," she said as she stared into my eyes.

I stared back into hers, and that's where what she was saying was contradicted by what I saw.

I grabbed her hand. "Edythe, come on. None of you even chose to be this. And even if you had, you still choose not to hurt anyone. I think your actions and decisions dictate whether you're evil or not. So what, like, you think we're all going to hell or something?"

"Well, hypothetically speaking, if we were to ever die..."

I dropped her hand. "No. I refuse to believe that. You couldn't possibly be damned. You're too good, and pure. All of you are like angels, especially Carine. There are humans out there far more evil than some vampires." I was all but tensed up with anger. The idea was blasphemy.

"Beau, I don't think what we choose to do about it makes any difference. We are what we are. Our very existence proves that the devil is real. You may not believe there is a hell, but I do. That's where we come from, and we'll return there."

"Hell? Who knows? If there is, I know for a fact it's absolutely not where you belong," I said, determined to make her change her mind.

Her tone changed suddenly. "Since when are you so religious?"

I shook my head. "I'm not. Not really… I mean, I've been to church before. My mom took me to a few here and there as part of her try-new-things phases, but she always gave up on it like pretty much everything else. And I just never really saw the appeal in the whole thing. It's not that I reject the whole concept of it or anything. I believe there is _something_ … but religion never really was for me. It always just looked like a bunch of do's and don'ts and rules you have to follow. Life was already difficult enough without going around thinking I was being judged all the time."

She considered this for a moment. "I can definitely see that point of view. There are many people see it that way."

"Do you guys… ever attend church?" I asked. It had never been brought up before, so I always assumed they weren't affiliated with one. But I knew that Carine's father had been a pastor.

She laughed. "Vampires in church? Oh, the irony… No, not since becoming this. I did when I was human, though, and quite regularly. My parents were Episcopalian. We were a very religious family. And Carine's father was an Anglican pastor. But I wouldn't say my family now is religious, in that regard. We don't partake in any organized religion, per se. I _would_ say that we are spiritual. I very much so believe in God."

I had to admit myself that with people like Edythe and Carine in the world, there had to be a God.

"I'm not trying to convince you to believe as I do, if you are at peace with your own belief system," she continued. "But I've given it a lot of thought, and I do think many people misunderstand the whole institution of it. What most people will see is a controlling deity who says 'do this' and 'don't do that' because he wants to ruin our fun and demonize our pleasure. But I don't think of it that way at all. If God is our creator—well, at least creator of the humans—then God knows exactly what's best for us. The things he commands not to do, you can think of them like poison, in regard to either our souls or bodies. The law merely is meant to protect, and improve the quality of life in the long run, not control it. Those _sins_ are considered as such for specific reasons, all of which revolve around potential to bring some sort of difficulty or corruption to our lives. What may seem like something being taken away, is actually setting us up for long-term gratification. It's hard to explain what I mean, but I could go on and on about it…"

Edythe had a genuinely amazing mind. She made the entire concept make perfect sense just like that. I loved listening to her philosophies. She was an endless source of beautiful ideas and epiphanies—I wanted to live forever in the peaceful inspiration of her existence.

Edythe Cullen could never be damned. I think God would be lucky to have more people like her advocating for him.

"Are you familiar with C.S. Lewis?" she asked.

I nodded. "Chronicles of Narnia. Of course."

Edythe giggled. "Did you know he was also a Christian apologist? There was something he said in one of his essays that really stuck out in my mind: 'It would seem our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.'"

She quoted him perfectly like she was reading from a book. And I agreed. It really did put things into a new perspective.

I sighed. "All of that, and you _still_ don't think you're worthy of heaven?"

"I suppose it's complicated… Anyway, I suppose you'll have to excuse my running off on a tangent. But my point is that I still feel like I should do the best I can to save my soul, even if it's most likely that I've already lost it. If I do my best at this, then I can at least say I tried to earn it back. But thank you, Beau. You've always been so very gracious about us."

"This is one of the reasons you didn't ever want me like this." I said it as an assumption. It wasn't a question.

"The biggest reason, actually. I may not be able to save my soul. Risking yours was very foolish of me."

"But you would have had to have let me die one day." Her logic didn't make much sense.

"I wouldn't have wanted you to die, of course. But gambling yours away just for the sake of never having to lose you, that's the most selfish act I could have ever committed."

"I wouldn't have wanted it anyway without you."

"Such a stubborn child," she taunted. "You think I'm unreasonable, but imagine the situation in reverse. Would you take away _my_ soul?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. This floored me.

"Okay, that's not fair. What about the others, though? Do they believe in anything?"

She thought for a minute, then she laughed at some inside joke. "I suppose Eleanor would be the next most spiritual. It reminds me of a funny story, actually…. Well, it isn't a _funny_ story, but the way she tells it is quite amusing. You know about Eleanor and the bear, correct?"

"Yes. I still remember. That's why bears are her favorite."

There had always been a sort of empathetic kinship between Eleanor and me. Her story was the only one remotely similar to mine. Royal had admired her, however briefly, while she was human. And that was why he had chosen her. I think Eleanor was the only one of the others who truly understood the miracle Edythe was to me.

Edythe laughed again. "Okay so, that day in '35, after the bear was done with Eleanor… she was fading away. And then she heard what she _thought_ was another bear that had come to fight over the meal."

"But it was Royal," I finished.

Edythe stifled another laugh. "Yes, and then she was flying up to heaven. On the way there, she opened her eyes again and saw him."

She chuckled again helplessly, but I didn't get the humor.

"Okay, why is it so funny?"

"Eleanor thought Royal was God taking her to heaven. She even fought through the pain just to keep her eyes open, so she didn't have to miss one second of God's face", Edythe managed to blurt out through the laughter.

I could understand that entirely. "Yeah, I assumed that much. But I would bet God actually looks more like _you_."

If I saw Edythe in a glowing orb descending from the sky, I wouldn't have questioned it even for a second.

"Oh, so you're one of those people who thinks of God as a woman?"

"I have no idea. If she is, I bet she looks like you… God must be beautiful, and there can't be anyone more beautiful than you," I said, touching her perfect face.

She smiled. "Well, thank you, Beau. Then I must say the male version looks like _you_ …"

"Care to tell the rest of the story?"

"Right… So Eleanor started to wonder why it was taking so long for God to get her up to heaven; maybe it was a longer trip than expected. Then he brought her to the blonde-haired angel." Edythe laughed even harder now.

It wasn't as funny to me. I could easily comprehend anyone making that assumption.

"That's when she started to change her mind. Maybe she'd had too much fun in her twenty years. She just knew God must have taken her to judgment day, and wasn't at all surprised at the sudden fires of hell."

I shuddered at the memory of the burning.

"But why hadn't God and the angel left? Why were they allowed to stay in hell with her? She didn't know, but oh, was she grateful." Edythe laughed again. I suppose since she had seen all of this through Eleanor's eyes, that was what made it so funny to her.

"Eleanor was the least disturbed of all of us over the vampire thing. She told us if God and the angels were vampires, then it couldn't be that bad."

I nodded, empathizing completely. "Exactly! You see? Hell isn't so bad if you get to keep an angel with you," I said mischievously as I pulled her into my chest.

Edythe grabbed the end of the necklace at my collarbones. Then she started quoting Shakespeare again.

 _"Come, gentle night. Come, loving, black-browed night. Give me my Romeo, and, when I shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with the night…_ "

"More than my own life," I reminded her.

"Forever," she reminded me back.


	12. COMPLICATIONS

9\. COMPLICATIONS

In just two days, Huilén's growing abdomen already seemed to be twice as large. Anyone who saw Huilén now would easily come to the conclusion she was pregnant. None of us could believe how quickly it was growing. Carine had called it 'unprecedentedly accelerated fetal development.'

Most of us tried to avoid the situation as much as possible, leaving Carine and Ati to deal with assisting Huilén's needs.

The last time I had looked at our in-home patient, she was breathing heavily, curled over the bulge in the center of her body. Ati had been holding her comfortingly like a mother, with Carine hovering intently at her side.

After the conversation Royal and I had two nights ago, he the one sibling who hovered closest to them at all times. Any time a negative word was spoken of the situation, Royal would suddenly go hostile, arms crossed, ready to jump in between Huilén and whoever might try to make a move.

The rest of my siblings' reactions ranged from slight interest, Jessamine, to wanting to stay out of it altogether, as Eleanor did.

Archie had the hardest time coping with our new guest. It wasn't so much that he objected to what was going on; he rarely spoke about it. But I could it see in his actions, his constant staring at the walls with his hands pressed to his temples, his frequent escapes outside, that he was having some sort of struggle with the situation. He'd looked as though he wanted to be left alone, but eventually, I decided I should try to find out what was wrong. He just didn't look like himself anymore.

"Archie?" I asked hesitantly from the couch. He was sitting at the stop of the stairs alone.

He looked away from the wall for the first time in hours to look at me. He raised his eyebrows as if to say _Yes?_

"Are you okay?"

"Headache," he answered, closing his eyes again.

That one surprised me. I hadn't known that could happen. But I believed it now. His small face was pinched in pain.

"Vampires can get headaches?"

"Those of us who are normal don't."

At first, I thought he was referring to 'normal' vampires, as in the bad ones. But then I thought about how none of the rest of our family ever seemed to get headaches.

"What do you mean?"

"It's the… fetus," he told me. "I can't see anything surrounding it. It's messing with my visions. It's like having one of my senses taken away from me. I'm not used to it."

I stared at him in disbelief. How were we going to know what to do, and when, if Archie couldn't give us some warning? I moved to sit on the step below him so that I could whisper.

"Wait… So we really don't know what's going to happen? I thought everyone was talking about it surely killing her because that was the way you had seen it. How can they be so sure?"

He shook his head. "Not sure. I can't see anything about it. I don't see Huilén's future at all. And I want to know so badly. It's like trying to watch a TV with bad reception. Your eyes want to focus on those fuzzy people jerking around on screen, but you can't make out any details. It's killing my head trying to watch her, and by nature, I _want_ to know what's going to happen, so I keep searching for it subconsciously. It's like I can't help myself."

"Oh…"

"My brain is confusing, I know. Did you know I can't see anything involving the werewolves either? I figured out that's why I'm never able to warn when they're coming. I want to know about them as well—how they will respond to the news. But it's like they don't even exist."

I wasn't expecting to hear that either. "Really? Why do you think that is?"

He shrugged. "Beats me. It makes me wonder what they have in common with… _it_."

I never thought it had anything in common with anyone. It was entirely unique. I thought about it for a moment, and then I had an answer for Archie's errant comment.

"Archie, what if you can't see the wolves because they don't have anything in common with _you_? You said you see our kind best because that's what you are. You've been human before, so you can see things involving them, just not as well. But you've never been what they are. And you—"

"…have never experienced what _it_ is," he said, finishing my thought. He looked at me like I was some sort of genius.

"But you don't have to worry about the tribe," I said. "I trust Julie. She'll be able to work things out with them. They'll know we didn't have to tell them about it, that we're fairly certain we're in control of the situation. And besides, even in the event of trouble, I'm sure that because of Edythe, we have at least a mile's radius of safety."

I heard the whirring of an X-ray machine coming from upstairs. I looked around at everyone, but no one seemed to notice. I walked silently up the stairs past Archie, who still didn't say anything.

When I peeked into the big, open hospital setup upstairs, I was expecting to see something quite similar to what I had just seen the other night. But it had changed so much that it threw me for a loop.

All of the furniture was pulled out of the way, and Huilén was curled up uncomfortably on a narrow bed in the center of the open room. It was a makeshift hospital bed, but larger. It still had the familiar rails and elevated mattress. Monitors were strapped all over her body, and several tubes stuck into her skin. Lights flashed on screens, but there was no beeping sound that I would have anticipated. I could hear the faint dripping of the IV bag plugged into her left arm.

She was asleep, but she choked uneasily a little. Carine and Ati were still hovering over her. Her body jerked suddenly, and she whimpered.

Their original assessment was correct. She was definitely worse, and getting more so by the minute.

"How are things… going?" I asked.

Carine and Ati turned around as if they hadn't expected me to be there somehow.

"She's much the same as last night," Carine said quietly, trying not to wake her. "Oh… Beau, I didn't get the chance to thank you for what you did. We owe it to the Quileutes for safety precautions."

"Er, thanks. I guess you're the only one who agrees with me on that," I laughed wearily.

"Don't mention it," she said softly. "You've always been notorious for maintaining a degree of level-headedness. I appreciate that."

We sat in silence for a while, just watching. I could hear the others in the house. Eleanor, Royal, and Jess were speaking in low, serious voices. Earnest hummed tunelessly in another room. I'm sure he was distracting himself from the uneasy thing his wife had gotten involved with. Edythe was silent like Archie, but I could hear both of them breathing.

Loudest of all, I could hear Huilén's heartbeat. It wasn't something I was used to hearing around the clock, and it was nearly distracting, like a dripping faucet. My innate senses kept me in tune with it, and I couldn't ever seem to not notice it. Nonetheless, it sounded wrong somehow. It seemed… uneven, like it was straining.

The rest of Ati's family had gone hunting. Hopefully they were somewhere very far from here. It always bothered me seeing the 'normal' vampires go out to do what they do best. But I guess it was stupid to stress about it. They'd always been doing this, centuries before I was even born.

"So you knew her?" I asked Ati, trying to dig for some answers.

"I had seen her before, yes. And after all of this, I think of her as a daughter now. A beloved child."

"What do we know about the… father?"

"Huilén called him her dark angel. I was never acquainted with him. She says he was quite in love with her."

"But abandoned her to let her die?"

Ati was quiet long enough that I felt terrible for saying it. Her face was very, very tired.

"I can imagine what you think of him, and what you must think of me," Ati finally said. "But I can't ignore her wishes. It wouldn't be right to make the choice for her. And I want this child to be born as much as she does."

Part of me wanted to be angry with them, like everyone else. But they made it so hard. I knew that they were right. This was the same conclusion I'd already come to.

I imagined the future for me that could have happened so easily. If my transformation hadn't been necessitated by Joss, there's no telling how long I would have gone, how long I would have aged before Edythe would have finally given in and changed me. For all I knew, she could have taken my will away from me entirely and just let me grow old and die.

I always loved what I shouldn't. And so did this woman in front of me now.

"Do you think there's any chance she'll survive this, Carine? I mean, not just as a human. Edythe mentioned having to change her."

"I would wager there's an equal chance of both scenarios," she said. _"If_ that's what she wants. We still haven't asked her if she will elect to become one of us if such a thing is necessary. And even so, there's also the possibility it will be too late to do anything to help her. I've seen venom work miracles, but there are conditions that even venom cannot overcome. If her heart fails… there will be nothing to carry it."

Then, as if to emphasize Carine's words, Huilén's heart throbbed and stuttered out of beat for a second. Ati leaned forward uneasily, but then the beat returned to its usual rhythm.

There were so many different ways this could go. There was the least expected: Huilén would somehow survive and be able to raise whatever she was carrying. More likely than that, this would be too much for her body to withstand, and she would die; then we'd have a child with no mother on our hands.

So either that, or Carine would have to change her, leaving us with two newborns: baby and vampire. One would have to be taken care of, because of its helplessness; the other taught how to be a vampire in control of herself, and remain inconspicuous. Would she even care about her child if she was driven mad with the thirst?

"What exactly is it doing to her?" I whispered as I walked closer.

Carine cleared her throat. "To put it simply, the fetus isn't compatible with her body. It's too strong, I'm assuming. But I'm sure she could endure that for long enough. The larger problem is that it is hoarding away all of the sustenance she needs. Her body is starting to reject food entirely. That's why I've started feeding her parenterally. Hopefully, she'll take it well enough. But everything about this is accelerated. We're watching her, along with the fetus, slowly starve to death. It seems there's no way to slow it down. I can't figure out what it _wants_."

Great. So it wasn't enough that it was killing her; it was killing itself as well… But being part vampire, no wonder it was starving. It probably didn't need the same sort of nutrition Huilén did. I bet it was already ready to sink its teeth into someone.

"And I still wish I could get a better idea of what it is exactly," Carine went on. "It's so well protected. X-rays won't penetrate it any better than the ultrasound or amniocentesis."

"Carine, I had an interesting thought," I began hesitantly.

"What is it, Beau?"

"You spoke of what the fetus _wants_. You've been trying to give Huilén what she needs. But it seems like she's rejecting it about as much as we would if we were to eat food. Maybe satisfying the fetus first will make her improve, and she'll be able to hold down food."

"I'm not sure I'm following you, Beau."

I heard soft footsteps coming up the stairs then, and Royal was through the door a half second later. His face wasn't angry. He seemed intensely focused.

Royal closed the door behind him.

"Carine," he murmured.

"Yes?"

"I was listening to your conversation. He's right. Perhaps you've been going about this the wrong way. Think about it, Carine… If that creature is more vampire than human, can't you guess what it needs? What it hasn't been getting? Beau just figured it out."

Carine looked back to me, and I could see it all turning over in her mind.

"I think it's thirsty," I said.

"Oh," she said in a surprised tone. "It wants blood? But how would the fetus get it? A blood barrier separates fetus from mother… The only way we could administer anything to it from outside her body would be if she were to—"

"Drink it herself…" Royal concluded.

"Hmm…" Carine put her hand to her chin, lost in thought.

"Wait a minute," I whispered. "Who would be willing to let her do that? It's not like anyone off the street is going to say, 'Oh, here. Have a drink.'"

"Of course not," Royal said. "We can give her donated blood from the hospital."

"So, what is she going to do? Drink it form a cup?" I laughed.

"No," Carine whispered. "I won't make her do that. That would be… monstrous."

I couldn't help but think how the words were probably offensive to Ati. She drank blood all the time, I imagined in much more gruesome ways.

"Carine, we don't have time to be creative. She's going to have to do it the traditional way to survive long enough," Ati added.

Huilén started to turn over groggily now. We must have woken her up. She blinked a few times and then opened her eyes wider when she noticed the four vampires in the room staring at her.

Ati whispered the proposition to her in Arabic before Carine could protest any further. Huilén stiffened at the words at first, but a few seconds later she nodded, looking at Carine. She muttered something to Ati.

"She will do whatever it takes. Whatever is best for her child," Ati translated.

Carine huffed out a sigh. "It won't hurt to try… I was going to grab some type AB positive for her anyway in case she loses a lot of blood. I'll get it on the next supply run."

I knew Huilén couldn't really understand exactly what Carine was saying, but she smiled then. She looked truly _happy_ for someone who was going to be drinking blood from a cup.

But of course she would be willing. She'd do anything to help the thing she was carrying. It was like it was brainwashing her into protecting it. And I knew Huilén wasn't dumb. She was fully aware of what was happening to her now, and how things would likely turn out.

"I don't think we should wait any longer, Carine," Ati said. "She needs it as soon as possible."

Carine looked at Royal and me.

"I can go get it now," Royal said.

"Will you?"

"Let's go," Royal said to me.

Outside the house, I could see Benji and Tiago and Kalil approaching. They were back.

"Royal, I don't think I should go with you," I told him.

"If you're worried about handling blood, it isn't how you'd imagine. It doesn't have that same appeal outside someone's body."

"No," I shook my head. "I've just never had direct contact with human blood before, and I haven't hunted in days. Besides, there's always that risk of someone noticing me in town."

"What's going on?" Benji demanded when she'd heard our conversation.

"We had an idea that might help Huilén," Royal said. "It won't be… pleasant, but it will help the fetus, which will help her in turn—or so we hope. We've thought of a better way to feed them. Maybe."

Benji's eyes twisted in disgust. "Not pleasant? Is that what this talk about blood was?"

"She's going to have to drink it," I explained.

Benji chuckled quietly. She probably thought we were making a joke. "Going to catch a grizzly bear, are you?"

"Oh, if the fetus is craving blood, it's not animal blood it will want. There's blood on hand at the hospital. That's where I'm going. Carine was going to pick it up anyway, just in case Huilén needed it."

At first, I thought Benji would be angry at Royal for fueling her mother's madness, but her reaction was relatively subdued.

"Well," she said. "She looks like she's starving, so I bet your theory is true. I guess you should go for it. Her first vampire act."

Royal started for the garage. An engine started.

It then realized how ironic this was. Here Huilén was… in a house full of vampires, and she was going to be drinking human blood—something most of them hadn't done in decades, and some never before.

It was a good thing I had a supernaturally strong stomach.

It didn't take long before I heard tires coming back up the driveway. Royal didn't waste any time

I watched him as he opened up the cabinet full of glasses that had probably never been used. I stopped him.

"You're not planning to use a clear cup, are you?" I interrupted.

He looked at me with annoyance, and then he realized what I was getting at. "I suppose that's right. Styrofoam?"

I nodded with a quick laugh.

"Your idea," he teased.

"Not really. I never would have thought to make her _drink_ it."

I didn't particularly want to see this, but I couldn't bring myself to leave. I had to see if my 'idea' was going to work. It would be even more disgusting for Huilén, and I sort of caused this for her. I could at least stick around to see it through.

When Royal pulled one of the AB positive bags from the microwave, I tensed up as he tore it open and poured it into the white cup. But he was right. Though it did smell good in a way, it also smelled wrong somehow. It must have been the artificial warmth or the lack of oxygenation. I imagined then how a body that had been dead for some time probably wouldn't be nearly as appealing to vampires.

Royal capped the cup of blood and stuck a straw in it. This probably made it as good as it was going to get for Huilén. You couldn't see what was in the cup at all, and though everyone could smell it, I didn't bet she would.

We quickly made our way up the makeshift hospital, and I was surprised to see that Edythe followed us. I guessed she was curious, too.

Carine hesitated when she took the cup. Huilén eyed it warily.

"We could try another method," Carine started.

But then Huilén extended her arm weakly. She was shaking. She muttered something in Arabic, then Ati spoke for her. "No, she will try this first. There's no time."

Huilén took the cup from Carine. Her hand shook a little, sloshing the blood inside. She tried propping up on one elbow, but she could barely move. It was insane how quickly she'd gotten so frail.

Ati put her arm under her and lifted her quickly into a sitting position. Naturally, she wasn't repelled by what we were doing at all.

Huilén looked around nervously at all the eyes watching her. She apparently felt self-conscious to be drinking blood in front of a room of vampires. I almost laughed at the pity of it all.

Ati raised her eyebrows expectantly at her.

I really wanted to get out of here for this part, but still… While I wasn't going to claim full responsibility for this, I didn't want to jinx it somehow.

Huilén brought the cup up under her chin and smelled the end of the straw. She winced, making a sickened face.

"Surely we can find another way, Ati," Carine said as she started to reach for the cup.

Ati pushed her hand away. "Carine…."

I swallowed hard, trying not to look disgusted.

Huilén shoved the straw into her mouth and closed her eyes tightly. Slowly, I could see the shadow of the blood as it crept up the straw. When it reached her mouth, she tensed. I half expected her to gag or throw up again, but she didn't pull it away from her mouth. She just continued to sip, and she moaned quietly with her eyes closed still.

Edythe stepped up behind me, touching my shoulder. I reached up and put a hand on hers.

Huilén brought the cup down after a few seconds and opened her eyes blankly.

Ati asked her a one-word question.

Huilén's heavily accented words came out slowly. "Blood… is… _good._ "

My stomach would have churned if it were able to. I clenched my teeth together.

"Amazing…" Carine exhaled in relief. "That's a good sign."

Ati pressed her hand to the woman's forehead, curling her fingers over the shape.

Huilén took another sip, giving it a real pull this time. The action wasn't nearly as weak now. It was like some instinct was guiding her.

"Ask her how she feels. Does she feel nauseated?" Carine's voice was full of fascination.

Ati asked the woman the pertinent questions and translated Huilén's responses in time as she spoke them. "She says… No… She doesn't feel sick… There's a first, eh?"

Carine beamed. "Excellent. It's too early to tell, but it looks hopeful."

Edythe patted my shoulder. I looked at her, and her lips twitched, fighting a smile.

Huilén swallowed a few more ounces of blood, staring past us out the window. It probably made her more comfortable to pretend we weren't watching her do something so strange. She probably thought we were having a hard time not ripping the cup away from her to drink it for ourselves. She smiled then and looked back at us with another wary look, directed at me. "Thank you," she said.

Her voice already sounded different. It wasn't as weak as it had been just minutes earlier.

I nodded. "I can't believe it's working so well for you," I said without thinking. I knew her understanding of English wasn't very strong.

"Carine, if she keeps it down and gets better, will you be able to take the needles out of her?" I asked her. "It looks like they won't be doing her much good after all."

"If that's the case, then yes. As soon as possible."

Anyone could see it. The cup of blood was making a noticeable difference now. Her color was returning, and her own blood flushed into her cheeks. She didn't even seem to need Ati's support as much anymore. Her breathing changed, too, as did her heart. It was stronger, more even.

Hope ghosted into Ati's eyes. I think she was just as happy as Huilén was. "I think you should give her more."

And then the cup gurgled as she sucked it dry, and Carine pointed to it. "Would you like more?" she pressed.

"Yes," Huilén nodded.

Carine disappeared out the door then, leaving this room for the first time in days. I could hear the others speaking to her downstairs. She told them about the newest revelation excitedly, but when they all gave their piece, they sounded utterly indifferent.

"They aren't too thrilled about this, are they?" I asked Edythe softly.

"No, and they shouldn't be. I'm not exactly overjoyed either, but at least we're doing what we can to help her if we just have to be involved. They'll see that eventually. They'll come around."

When Carine returned, Huilén just reached for the cup absentmindedly as if it were water. She started sucking it down just as nonchalantly.

She pulled herself forward, careful of the tubes, and scooted into a sitting position with her back entirely off the bed. Ati's hands waited behind her, in case she grew weak again. But Huilén didn't need it. She took deep breaths between swallows and finished this second cup quickly.

She muttered something lengthier this time to Ati.

"She doesn't feel nearly as sick anymore," Ati said. "She says she feels sort of hungry… or thirsty. She isn't sure. Carine, just look at her. This is obviously the right thing to do. She should keep drinking more."

"She is still human, Ati," Carine amended. "She needs human food just as well. We should give her a little bit to try and see how it affects her now. Will you ask her if there's anything in particular she wants?"

They exchanged the words quickly, then Ati voiced the reply. "Eggs."

Edythe looked at me. "Beau, I think it's safe to say you have the most recent experience with cooking food. Do you mind giving it a shot?"

"Ha…" I laughed. "Never thought I'd ever be doing that again."

"I can go get them," Royal added as he bounded from the room.

When Royal returned with five cartons of eggs, I couldn't help but laugh. "Uh… Royal? I don't think those eggs are going to stay good long enough for her to end up eating all of them."

"Yeah, I figured as much. But I wasn't sure how much humans actually ate, so better safe than sorry," he shrugged.

I dug around in the fridge to find what I needed. It was stuffed full of random groceries; Earnest had gone out recently to get all the food we would need to feed a human for quite some time. I poked around until I found the butter, and then the milk.

I grabbed a handful of the eggs, concentrating on not holding them too tightly and breaking them, and went to work on the stove that was more of a decoration than anything else.

The sound of the sizzling eggs in the pan was nice. It comforted me somehow, presumably because it was so familiar. It made me less nervous about what was going on while it filled the silence, and drowned out the heartbeat upstairs. They weren't the least bit appetizing, though… This always tripped me up. Edythe had been right when she'd explained this to me once. It didn't smell edible. Every time I smelled food, I always waited for my stomach to respond to it somehow, but no such feeling ever came.

The smell was so different to this nose. It wasn't a matter of smelling good or bad, just neutral. But I could tell that the eggs wouldn't taste good to me at all. It was like smelling a scented candle. It was pleasant to smell, but I knew it wouldn't be good to taste because it wouldn't satisfy any nutritional need.

The other thing that was unusual for me was the heat radiating from the hot pan. I should have been wiping sweat and steam from my forehead at this point.

I even noticed that I could touch the searing hot metal and it not actually hurt. I could feel the intensity of the heat, but there was no pain tied to the contact… It was like pain had always been an indication that damage was being done.

As the eggs were almost cooked through, my stirring and tossing slowed. Edythe popped into the room then.

"Don't put milk in that. She's lactose intolerant, you know."

"Oh! Damn…" I said pulling the eggs off the heat and tossing them in the trash. "I didn't even think to ask about that."

"I didn't realize you were going to put milk in them," she said, eyeing me speculatively.

I shrugged. "That was always how I did it, the way I was taught, I guess. I'm not even sure why." I laughed.

Edythe chuckled to herself. "I'm sorry. You were doing so well, too. The master vampire chef."

I didn't mind making another batch of eggs. I found that I sort of enjoyed the process of it. It tied me back to a little piece of my humanity. I could picture myself standing there in Charlie's kitchen, making his breakfast.

And I really wished I could be cooking for him. Even if he couldn't know I was the one doing it. I thought idly about leaving food on his front porch. But would he eat the food if he didn't know where it came from?

As I poured the fresh eggs onto a plate, I heard Edythe inhale sharply. "The wolves."

I moved to her side at once. "The wolves? What did they decide?"

"They're not making any moves. Not just yet."

We ran out the door into the darkness and waited on the steps of the big porch. Julie and the younger girl standing next to her looked strangely pale in the moonlight.

"Julie? Sarah? What is it?" Edythe asked.

"Sam and the others want to kill the thing," Jules said flatly. "We disbanded because we don't agree with the rest of the pack."

"They're going to try to kill Huilén?" I asked.

"No. They don't want to have to be the ones to kill the human. That goes against our nature. But if that thing does, they _will_ kill it," she said coldly.

"And just how exactly do Samantha and the others plan to do that?" Edythe answered.

"They aren't sure what to do yet. They're going to consult with the elders in the morning. They see it as an abomination, something you must not let live. The way they see it, there is danger in the unknown… They feel it's their duty to remove the danger."

Edythe shook her head. "We told you. We'll handle it. We will see what becomes of it."

"I know," Julie said. "And I think the elders will agree to take this slowly and play it by ear. I don't think immediate action is the best thing right now. I'm not sure of what their exact game plan will be, but I'm warning you now; they'll have this place surrounded. They're not going to let it out of your home."

"Thank you, Julie," Edythe nodded. "I'll let them know. Stay safe."

Edythe explained the issue with the tribe to everyone inside, and Ati scoffed loudly. "Carine, your town's little guard dogs really get in the way of things, don't they…?"

Edythe rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it."

"They're not going to touch Huilén or the child," Ati went on. "And you better make sure they're aware that if they even so much as _think_ about trying anything on me or my family, I will personally deliver a slow, painful death to every last one of them!"

"Okay, okay. Hold on now!" Carine scolded her. "No one is hurting anyone. They're not going to come into my home. We won't have a problem as long as the, um… child is kept a careful watch over."

Carine was right. I trusted that Julie would present this to the elders in the best possible light. I could tell by the way she had watched me in particular, assessing my reactions, that she trusted me to indicate whether I truly thought there was any danger.

The problem was that I wasn't sure if I really believed that myself.


	13. LEGENDS

10\. LEGENDS

It didn't look natural somehow—the way Huilén's body was ballooning out in a strange, sickening way. It almost didn't look like a pregnancy, but more like this massive tumor swelling out from her body because the rest of her couldn't keep up with the growth. Most women should gain weight during pregnancy, but that wasn't the case here; Huilén _shrank_ as whatever she was carrying grew larger and larger by the day.

At the two week mark, Carine mentioned that she looked like she could have been in the late second trimester or the early third. If someone had told me she had been pregnant for six months, I would have believed it. But I had watched this from the beginning, just fourteen days ago. And despite that fact, I still couldn't believe it. It seemed utterly impossible she could be _that_ pregnant.

Her stomach strained against the faded sweatshirt she wore today, yet the rest of the top was way too big for her shoulders and arms. The bulge was literally growing out from what it sucked away from her.

We had moved her downstairs to the living room at this point. With all the blood, she no longer needed the monitoring equipment or what Carine referred to as the TPN line. She sat curled up in a blanket on the couch, with only one tube connected to her now. She always kept her hands wrapped tenderly around her bloated stomach like she was protecting it.

The big flat-screen TV was turned on, but the volume was barely audible. No one seemed to be paying attention to it, except Huilén, who didn't need the audio because she wouldn't have been able to understand it anyway.

Carine and Earnest stood by the back windows, which they had opened earlier this morning. Huilén was always feeling cold, and the problem was that we had no need for heating in this house. So they tried whatever they could to warm the place up a bit.

Archie remained out of sight, as usual, but I could hear him somewhere upstairs, along with Jess and Eleanor. Their conversation was just low enough that I couldn't make out the words. They must have been behind a closed door.

Ati sat cross-legged on the ground in front of Huilén, and Edythe sat at the other end of the couch. I was surprised how unexpectedly Edythe seemed to warm up to the whole thing. She rarely spoke negatively of the situation anymore. In fact, she often smiled anytime Huilén made some small improvement.

Royal and I both would stay near her often, in case we were needed for anything. I wouldn't go as far as to say that he cared about her; I think he was more interested in protecting a human's choices, especially when they involved child-bearing.

Everyone turned suddenly when a low, muted crack sounded from the right side of the couch. Huilén's pained cry followed just a second later.

What was _that?_

She was panting frantically, curling over the bulge. Ati held her gently while Carine and Edythe hovered in front of her. A small flicker of motion caught my eye at the top of the stairs; Archie was there, staring at us with his hands pressed to his temples again. He didn't come any closer though, as if he was barred from entering.

Huilén cried out something in Arabic.

"Huilén!" Ati said anxiously.

The woman muttered something to her in pained gasps, pointing to her left side.

It was breaking bones now, I was sure.

"I heard bone breaking," Carine confirmed. "I need to take an X-ray to see if there are any splinters. We don't want to puncture anything."

"It's her ribs, she's sure," Ati said. "Right there." She pointed where Huilén had, careful not to touch.

"Let's get her up."

Together, the two of them lifted Huilén carefully. Edythe stepped in to help, but she stopped when they already had her moving.

Huilén was a little bit stronger now than I was expecting. But so was the thing inside. I guess you couldn't starve one without the other. And healing worked the same.

They carried her up the stairs with Edythe right on their heels. I was really glad Carine had all of this equipment on hand here at home. It would have been quite the scene to bring _this_ case into the hospital.

I sat listening to the whirring of machinery upstairs, then I heard Carine confirm what we'd already guessed. "There is one break, but also a costochondral separation just below it."

I wasn't sure what that meant, but it sounded painful nonetheless. They had her back downstairs in a matter of minutes, taped up nice and tight.

"I'll give her some Percocet for the pain," Carine said when they sat her down comfortably on the couch.

"Yes, thank you," Ati nodded.

Huilén swallowed the pain tablet quickly with her usual AB positive.

"She will need something solid on her stomach with the medicine," Carine said. "Does she want eggs again?"

At this point, we'd nearly gone through the entire five dozen eggs Royal had brought in. The rarely used trashcan now sat crammed full of blue cartons.

Ati nodded. "An omelet."

Edythe used the few remaining eggs to make a huge omelet. She moved quickly, turning the heap of egg over every few seconds, cooking it precisely the same on both sides.

I laughed at her deliberateness. "I don't know why you made me cook the eggs before… You do this better than I can."

"Thank you," she murmured with a smug expression.

While she cooked, she told me about the last time she'd tasted eggs, which to my surprise, wasn't while she was human.

"It was at a masquerade ball in the twenties—Carine was teaching me to assimilate into human society. One of her colleagues had purchased each of us a banquet ticket as a kind gesture to the new doctor and her 'younger sister.' I couldn't refuse the plate."

I made an unsettled face. "And what was _that_ like?"

She made a face. "Awful. Absolutely disgusting. It tasted even worse on the way back up."

Out of curiosity, I tore a corner off the sizzling omelet and popped it into my mouth.

The sensation was repulsing.

Edythe watched me expectantly, with an amused look on her face.

It was like chewing on unflavored gum… or some rubbery substance.

I swallowed quickly to get the taste out of my mouth, but the action felt totally wrong. The piece of omelet hung up inside my throat and refused to move any further. It just sat there uncomfortably for several seconds. And the longer it stayed there, the more agitated my throat felt. It was comparable to sucking water up your nose in a swimming pool. My body was telling me something was there that wasn't meant to be there.

Edythe must have seen the expression on my face because she laughed and pushed the trash bin over to me.

I coughed the revolting obstruction from my throat and spat several ounces of venom out to wash the taste away.

"I. Am. _Never…_ doing that again…" I choked out.

Edythe burst into laughter. "Beau, you should have seen the look on your face. Ha…! When I told you about it being awful, that was me making sure you were aware of that fact so that you would avoid those situations as much as possible. And there you go, scarfing it down intentionally!"

Eleanor must have heard Edythe's comment because she peeked into the kitchen and started laughing along with her. "Hey, you should try pizza! You'll think the greasy residue is _never_ going to come out. I had to buy mouthwash for the first time in years!" She laughed some more.

"And we have plenty of other delicacies in the fridge for you to try out as well. Help yourself!" Edythe laughed.

El and Edythe continued to make fun of me about the food, but I was still distracted by the thing about the mouthwash… or hygiene for that matter.

I hadn't even thought about that until she'd said the word. I hadn't used a toothbrush, or mouthwash, or anything in months now, and I hadn't even noticed. Even after the egg, my mouth felt far cleaner than it ever did when I was human, and I brushed religiously.

I speculated then that our mouths were perfectly clean all the time because, for one, we weren't ever putting food in them, and two, I doubted that any sort of bacteria could survive in vampire venom. I would bet that our mouths were actually a hundred percent sterile. I wondered if Carine ever tested that…

When I handed the omelet to Ati, I said, "I sure hope it tastes better to her than it did to me."

Ati looked at me with a puzzled expression. El laughed again.

Shortly thereafter, I requested that Edythe and I hunt. I wanted to forget all about that taste.

Edythe asked Benji and Tiago if they'd like to join us on an animal hunt, and they'd consented a lot more easily than I was expecting. I guessed they did it out of boredom. We decided to set off in the direction of Mt. Rainier; grizzly bears hadn't been on the menu in quite some time, and we'd considered that it would be the best thing to try first for our friends. The nearby hooved quarry weren't half as appealing.

It was probably somewhere around two-hundred miles from home, but we were there less than an hour later.

Edythe basically did the same thing she'd done with me, teaching how to hunt. She had us stop in the middle of the forest to listen to our surroundings.

There were many different bystander heartbeats… birds… a squirrel… mice… But then, beyond all of that, you could hear the larger hearts of interest. Edythe asked Benji if she could pinpoint them, and the two were off immediately in that direction.

The first bears they came across were a mother and two cubs, rummaging around in a small embankment of trees circling a wide open area. The female rose defensively on her haunches when we stopped behind them, and she let out a deep warning gruff.

"Babies," Edythe muttered. "Shame. I guess we'd better leave these alone. We've been wearing the population here a little thin anyway."

Following the scent of the trail the mother had left to the spot, we found another bear fishing around in a small river nearby.

"Go ahead," Edythe instructed to our friends. "This one should be big enough for both of you."

I watched with fascination as Tiago approached the bear slowly, simply sneaking up behind it. I always just went in for the obvious kill. It made no difference to me if my prey saw me coming.

I thought he was being hesitant to go forward with this, but it took me a second to grasp what he was actually doing—he was toying with his food. I'm sure it was something he was used to doing with… people. A lot of our kind did that sort of thing out of boredom. Like I was to Joss, the hunt was merely a game to some.

It was quite the sight to see, though. Tiago silently stood just two feet behind the bear, which hadn't noticed him any more than if he were a fly. Then he reached out and poked the bear with his fingertip.

The bear jerked its body around viciously and barked out a deafening roar, taking several steps back away from him. When Tiago stepped closer tauntingly, the bear lunged at him without a pause.

To my surprise, Tiago simply held still as a statue, letting the animal maul him into the ground. The bear swiped and snapped at him ferociously several times, and Tiago remained motionless, smiling up at the bear like he was watching a child throw a temper tantrum.

Then he reached out in a flash too quick for the bear to catch, grabbing it by both forearms. He pushed the massive animal up and off him like it was nothing. The bear boomed a different roar this time—a cry of fear.

It thrashed its head about, trying to shake free, but its arms weren't allowed to move even an inch. Tiago started chuckling at its feeble attempts, and then flipped the bear over onto its back and jumped on top of it, reversing their positions so quickly the bear couldn't even comprehend what was happening.

I normally killed my prey humanely before the biting, because I was sure it was just as painful for them as the venom was for people. But Tiago went in for the bear's throat immediately while it was still crying out in deep, resonating grunts.

He didn't just bite, though. He used his fingers like claws to rip the side of the bear's throat open first, proceeding to suck the flowing blood straight from the source.

Benji was in the mix then, biting into the other side of the bear's massive neck. A few seconds later, when the bear stopped moving altogether, Tiago and Benji both looked up at us simultaneously with their bloodied faces, which probably looked just as sickened as mine had earlier with the eggs.

I just stood there with my mouth agape.

"Well…" Edythe said in a huff. _"That_ was a little messy for my taste… and all for nothing, because now you're disappointed in having gone through all that show for something so unsatisfying," she said, narrating their thoughts.

I could have guessed that just by the uneasy looks on their faces.

"I have to say…" Benji said as she wiped her face off. "I can't understand why your family bothers with living this way. That wasn't pleasurable at all!"

"It satiates the need, regardless," Edythe shrugged. "Sort of."

"I think I'll stick to the traditional diet," Tiago muttered as he splashed water from the stream over his face.

Edythe laughed. "I suppose it's easier to live this way the fewer humans you've had. Carine doesn't even think about wanting human blood now. She's never known the taste… and neither has Beau."

Tiago looked at me then. "Trust me, my friend. You don't know what you are missing."

And I didn't want to ever find out, either.

"It's okay," I shrugged. "What I don't know doesn't hurt me."

Benji shook her head in disbelief and lifted a blob of water the size of a basketball from the stream with her hands, guiding it carefully to her face, so not to wet her clothes. She swirled the water around, washing her skin completely clean before she tossed the it through the air to let it splash to the ground a couple yards in front of her.

It was never really something you got used to seeing—Benji doing things like that. It always caught me by surprise when the wind started blowing like a tornado out of nowhere, or massive mounds of dirt and rock would come flying up out of the ground as she sculpted little miniature mountains. It was hard to believe that what I was watching was real, as if even the things that _I_ could do should have been possible.

Edythe and I found our bear at the bottom of a waterfall in the same river. Benji frightened the poor thing before I went for it, as she shot hot flashes of fire up around it in all directions. The bear spun around helplessly trying to avoid the flames. Benji snickered like a child.

"Hey, play with your own food!" I called out as I bounded for the bear. Edythe gave her an accusing look, and then she was following right behind me.

Our friends were probably disappointed with the way we did things. We didn't nearly put on the spectacle they had. I had the bear out with a quick twist of its neck before Edythe caught up to me. We had it drained just a few seconds later, and we didn't have any mess to clean up.

"Borrring!" Benji called, throwing a hand up to her mouth, pretending to yawn exaggeratedly.

After we'd gone through enough distractions, there was nothing left to do but go home and check up on the progress.

When we got back to the house, Ati was holding onto Huilén, helping her sit down gently on the couch. They must have just taken her up to the bathroom.

Huilén's face went white, and she held her breath as she sank into the corner of the couch. I could tell she was trying not to cry out in pain, because she wanted to look as strong as possible. She didn't want anyone making harsh judgment calls based on her condition.

It made me wonder exactly how much longer this was going to go on. When would this little thing make its appearance?

"So… um, when's the due date? Does Carine have a guess?" I asked Edythe quietly.

"Not exactly," she whispered. "We obviously can't go by the nine-month model, but Carine is estimating from how big she is, that the fetus will probably be viable to live on its own within the next few days. The baby gains about two centimeters every day. So if it continues to develop at this rate, it will be full term in about ten days. But sometimes it grows more rapidly, depending on how her condition is holding up."

It was funny how having a deadline made it harder to think about what was coming. I was suddenly glad that Ati was so wrapped up in this. I would have hated for Carine to be the only one taking care of her, having to deal with whatever outcome would turn out.

Ati was murmuring something that sounded encouraging to Huilén —like she was saying, _It's going to be okay._

The words probably meant nothing, though. It was like she was trying to console a child, even though she knew it would most likely not be okay.

"Which reminds me…" Edythe continued. "We have a couple of important questions for her." She looked at Carine. "It's probably time to ask her, don't you think? Our window of opportunity is coming to a close soon."

Carine nodded. "I suppose. Better too early than too late. Ati?"

"You know she won't agree… to either," Ati sighed.

"It's safer for her this way," Carine pleaded. "If not, then she must face the alternative."

Ati nodded and started spilling the whole mess out to Huilén in Arabic. Whatever she was asking was to some effect of, 'Carine wants to induce labor in a couple of days. It's too dangerous to allow it to grow further.'

The other question she had to ask Huilén was the most important one: did she want to become like us in the event that she wouldn't survive otherwise?

After Ati's words sank in, Huilén inhaled sharply through her nose and glanced around quickly at all of us with distrust.

Huilén shook her head desperately. "No…" The accented word was clear and confident. She'd already chosen her fate.

Ati took a deep breath. "She doesn't want to deliver the child by artificial means. She wants him to come out when he wants to come out. And as for saving her, she doesn't want to be like the boy's father. She says the child is meant to take her place if death shall be her fate. She refuses to become one of us."

So it was a boy? Since when? How could she know?

Ati measured everyone's expressions after using specific pronouns for the kid.

"Yes, she has decided the child is a boy. She says that… it has _shown_ her. She can sense it in some way."

I'm pretty sure it didn't work that way—you couldn't just decide your baby's gender.

Carine shook her head. "Ati, you have to make her understand she won't be able to see her _boy_ if we can't get him out via a controlled cesarean. It is going to be much better —"

"No. It is _not_ better," Ati interrupted.

I was starting to think this woman _wanted_ Huilén to die.

"You are not going to force her to do anything that makes her unhappy. No matter what happens, this makes her feel better, knowing that she has chosen it. We can deal with the rest afterward."

That didn't even make any sense. Huilén wouldn't just carry this thing so she could pawn it off on someone else, to be their responsibility. She had to have some other plan. Otherwise, she'd never even get to see 'him.'

I thought about the implications of it all, everything that had been said about this kid so far. I understood it was wrapped up tight in an amniotic sac as tough as our skin. And Huilén couldn't possibly be strong enough to deliver it the usual way.

So how was this going to work? How did it get out if she wouldn't let Carine touch her?

Edythe seemed to see the question in my eyes, and she nodded in the direction of Carine's study. Then she was up on her feet.

I followed her lead.

Edythe turned on the monitor of one of Carine's big computers, revealing an internet browser full of open tabs about vampire lore and legends. Most of them were scanned documents of ancient writings, few of which were in English. This was no _Vampires A to Z_.

"From what little research Carine has been able to do, it would appear the creatures use their own teeth to… escape the womb," she whispered.

" _Little_ research? Seems like a lot to me…"

"We have to be able to decipher anything we find, though. It takes an inordinate amount of time. The ancient stories and myths… they're all written in archaic Latin or even more obscure languages, like Sumerian. It's one of the oldest written languages ever discovered."

I squinted. "So this _has_ happened before?"

"Maybe," she said. "We can't be sure. It's all very sketchy. This mythology could just be like the rest of the stories surrounding vampires. We don't tend to actually stick to the accounts in human lore at all. That's what's so troubling. The stories of the Libishomen could very merely be products of fear and imagination."

"Then we really have nothing solid to work with, do we?" I asked.

"The only thing that looks promising is that most of these stories seem to be localized, linked… The housekeeper on the island? This was one of the things that came to mind for her when she saw you with me. She'd heard warnings of such creatures impregnating women, and then leaving them for dead."

I blinked rapidly, amazed at how this all was fitting together.

"A certain group of stories," she continued, "the ones originating from South America and the Pacific Islands, all are very similar to each other, and also to what's happening to Huilén."

"What did these stories say happened to the, um… mothers?" I asked hesitantly.

"There were no survivors, of course. _But_ giving birth in the middle of a swamp while a medicine man smeared some concoction of mud and herbs across your body to drive out the evil spirits wasn't exactly the best way to handle it, either. And even normal pregnancies killed mothers back then. That happened quite often. So I'm not entirely convinced that this is an absolute death sentence for Huilén. Maybe if Carine were able to stop the bleeding fast enough somehow…"

I could hear Huilén murmuring amicably to Ati in the other room, and all of a sudden she broke off in the middle of something she was saying and sucked in a sharp breath. I could hear Ati moving swiftly to try and help her with whatever was happening.

"It's okay," I heard Ati say. "He's just… stretching."

I heard Huilén's breathing go back to normal.

"The poor thing hardly has any room in there," Edythe said. "I can't believe she won't let Carine get him out the safe way. I don't think I'm ready to watch… well, you know."

She leaned her head against my shoulder. I shuddered.

"I'm sorry, Beau… It seems our world for you now is more horrific than even I could have bargained for. And that's saying something."

I kissed her softly on the cheek. "Trust me, Edythe. I don't mind. I'd face death and horror a million times if it meant keeping you in my life forever. At least it keeps things… interesting."

"It shouldn't be worth it, though, Beau."

I huffed out a laugh. "Don't go all self-deprecating on me now. You do realize that even with everything we've been through—everything we will ever go through—each new day with you is still the new best day of my life, and it will always be that way. Nothing will ever change that fact."

She started to kiss me then. We had some serious problems to face… My only friend from my old life counted me as an enemy, I was sure. Victor was on the loose, probably plotting his revenge as we spoke. And a not-so-human baby was about to rip Huilén apart any day now. I wrapped my arms tight around the one thing that was still certain, holding her close.

"You're the only thing in my world that keeps me sane through all of this…" she muttered. "I'm beyond lucky to have you."

I laughed. "Be serious, please. Don't act like you aren't the one doing _me_ the favors. You don't know how much I give you credit for."

"Oh, I am so grateful, Beau," she insisted. "Before you… all my life was like living through a never-ending night, without a moon. There were stars in the sky, of course… little hints of light and reason… And then this meteor came shooting across my sky. Suddenly, everything was on fire… There was this brilliance… this beauty."

"That's funny," I muttered.

She arched her eyebrow.

"I'm the meteor?"

"Yes."

"But you were the sun, Edythe. Nothing compares with that. I thought I'd seen the sun before, sure… But then when I actually saw _you_ , the image was seared into my eyes forever, like having stared at the sun. I would have never been able to forget you for as long as I lived."

Her face was soft now. She brushed my cheek gently. "That doesn't mean anything to me. You will always be the most beautiful thing in my life, no matter what the metaphor is."

I got up slowly and rested my hands on either side of her face, staring into her eyes. "You are my heaven, Edythe. And that's the only thing I'll ever need as long as I live."

"And you are all I'm asking for," she said, a little staggered.

And I lifted her up on my toes so that I could press my lips to hers.


	14. TIME

11\. TIME

It was different when we were alone in the cottage—nice to keep the mile or so distance between fantasy and insanity. It wasn't because we were bored with all the genetics talk and stories and myths and legends. It was because, in a way, we sort of couldn't stand the waiting. When you knew what horror was to come, it was an odd feeling for everyone to just stand around and help it along. And it was hard to _not_ see it that way—as a monster.

But in another way, I felt like I empathized the most with Huilén. I'd nearly been killed after I'd gotten involved in Edythe's world. Being with her was never in my best interest as far as safety was concerned. My run-in with the tracker was a lot more straightforward than this, though. In that situation, it was clear who the enemy was. Everything in me was geared towards running from the monster; Joss was a clear-cut kind of killer.

The problem was infinitely more complicated for Huilén. You could run from someone you feared—as I had. You could fight to the death with someone you hated—like Edythe did. But when the one who was killing you was someone you loved, what other option did you have? If your life was all you had left to give to your beloved in order to protect them, how could you not give it?

I certainly knew what my choice would be.

It was just before sunrise when we got back to the house. I'd assumed Huilén would still be asleep, and we could keep watch while the others went hunting. They hadn't fed in a really long time.

But Huilén must have been awake. I heard a lot of mumbling going on along with the machinery sounds from upstairs again. Another x-ray? Looked like the countdown was starting off with a bang.

Archie opened the door before we could walk in. He sighed in relief as soon as he was out of the house. "Hey, guys. I'm gonna walk away from the house a minute. I need a break," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

I nodded. "Hey, Arch. What's going on upstairs?" I noticed no one was downstairs now.

He shrugged. "Maybe another rib?" I could see the pain in the back of his eyes as he tried to pry into the future automatically. Archie wasn't used to not knowing what was going on.

"Pelvis this time…" Edythe muttered, accessing someone's thoughts.

I heard Royal's voice upstairs. "I knew I heard a crack…"

It was weird to see Royal so… involved… with anything other than himself.

Archie shook his head. "I think Royal is going to end up ripping Ati apart if she doesn't keep trying to hide new injuries from Carine."

"Hide?" I asked. Edythe was already in the house.

Archie made a face. "She keeps trying to play things off for Huilén, to make it seem not so severe. She's so wrapped up in that thing."

"Oh… Well, have fun on your walk," I said.

Archie nodded.

Edythe and Ati were bringing Huilén back down the stairs. I wondered why they didn't just carry her.

Carine came down slowly after them, and I could see the amount of stress on her face. It actually made her look old enough to be a doctor for once.

They all assumed their positions on the couch again and started watching the TV absentmindedly. Earnest, Eleanor, and Jess were in the kitchen, making up tons of food for Huilén. I could hear one of those cooking shows on the kitchen TV.

I sat down on the couch with Edythe and our patient. I looked down at the floor, trying not to think too much about the future. And out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Huilén watching me carefully.

"I'm sorry," I heard her whisper.

I looked at her. Was she talking to me?

Edythe nudged me.

"What? No, don't be sorry."

Huilén stared at me with this concerned, mother-like worry.

"She thinks you look tired," Edythe commented.

"Huh…" I laughed. "Yeah, I wish I could sleep right about now."

I slumped deeper into the couch. Huilén asked Edythe for a refill.

But Royal was the one who blew past to go to the kitchen. He was back just a minute later.

I watched as Huilén gulped the cup down like it was a sports drink and she'd just run a marathon.

It made me thirsty just watching her.

"Are the rest going to hunt soon?" I asked.

"Yes," Edythe answered. "They'll power up to be their strongest for her. Looks like we'll be on watch later."

"Out of eggs… _again_ ," I heard Earnest say from the kitchen.

"Go, Beau," Edythe said. "I can tell you want to get out of here. Go down to the store."

I wanted to argue at first, but then I really did feel like I was looking for some escape. I was on my feet.

Edythe tossed me some keys, and I caught them reflexively before I even told my arm to move.

When I pressed the button on the remote, it wasn't her Volvo that waited for me like I was expecting. It was the Mercedes Guardian. Huh…

But then I thought about it and realized this one wouldn't be familiar around town as one of Dr. Cullen's cars. Nonetheless, Charlie would be at work.

My knees were bunched under the steering wheel, and I had to move the seat back quite a bit.

To be honest, I didn't care for driving this one much; it was like driving a tank around.

When I blew out of the greenery of the drive onto the highway, it took me a second to realize I was going way over the limit. My foot eased up on the pedal. I thought it would be nice to get a little chase action… But the heat would be brought down on Carine.

It seemed to take forever. The thirty miles an hour in town felt like crawling. Though, the idea of a casual trip to the market was relaxing in a way. It brought back nostalgia.

I parked in the back of the store's lot, far away from anyone else, so not to draw attention to the car. It felt like it took hours to get inside, walking at human step. I donned my sunglasses and hood, despite the obvious lack of sun.

It was almost funny to watch the other shoppers faces when they saw me. Some people stared, looking half terrified, half interested. I never thought of myself as an actual _Cullen_ until I realized people were looking at me the same way they looked at all the others. People could easily spot the difference, knowing there was something not normal about us, endlessly trying to figure out what it was.

One girl spoke to me. "Hey, nice stolen car."

It took me a second to realize she'd watched me all the way from the back of the lot. She was familiar-looking… But I couldn't put the pieces together. Someone from school, maybe an underclassman.

I laughed and kept my head down. "Borrowed, not stolen."

"Sure, that'll hold up in court," she laughed.

I glowered. "Can I… help you?" I tried to look intimidating.

"Not really, um…" she stammered. "I was kidding… It's just that you look really upset. Are you okay?"

I shook my head quickly. "Yeah, it's nothing."

"Oh. Sorry."

I turned away and walked into the grocery store. I shook the rain out of my hair and went straight for the eggs, grabbing five more cartons.

As soon as I cut the engine back home, Eleanor was in the garage. I handed her the eggs. "Thanks," she said.

When Huilén had scarfed down the massive omelet, the pizza, and the salad and pasta Earnest had cooked, I watched as her eyes started to droop. It was starting to get dark out.

"How is she?" I asked Edythe.

I heard Carine, Ati, and all the others except Royal and Archie slip out the door to go hunt.

"She's… better in some ways," Edythe sighed. "Aside from Ati's tirade and the resulting guilt."

"What?" I sat up straight. "Is she mad?"

"It's a bit complicated," she said quietly. "Ati has been dead set on doing exactly what Huilén wants. But Carine suggested we induce labor tomorrow, secretly, and maybe Huilén would then agree to the C-section operation once it started thrashing around. She'd never be able to deliver it normally. But Ati was so angry. Carine insisted that it was safest for both the baby and Huilén, and she finally relented."

"Are you serious? _Tomorrow?_ How did you guys convince her?"

"Well, waiting as we've been, for the child to be ready… which was insanely dangerous… We've been rather proactive about this. And if we act quickly now, as soon as her strength peaks again, Carine sees no reason why it should not go well. I don't see anything that should keep this from working if we do it safely."

I thought about what she was saying for a minute. Carine wanted to deliver the baby _safely_. And that baby wasn't going to come out the normal way, clearly. But I also knew it was protected by something as strong as our skin, impenetrable to anything, with just one exception—its teeth.

Which meant vampire teeth were the only thing that were going to bring this child into the world. I couldn't bring myself to ask the question, though.

"When will they be back?" I asked, still whispering.

"A few hours. They're going for the bears this time. Ati is trying it, and Benji and Tiago want in on it again."

We sat quietly for a long time watching the TV as Huilén slept.

At one moment, Edythe sat up abruptly. "Did you just say something?" she asked. She was looking intuitively at my face. She looked utterly shocked.

Strange. No one had said anything, and she should know that. Her hearing was just as good as mine.

"Me?" I asked. I was so confused. "I didn't say anything." I looked at Royal, but he hadn't said anything either. And Huilén was sound asleep.

Edythe swiftly leaned into me, her expression suddenly intense. Her black eyes focused on my face like she was scrutinizing something she was seeing.

"What are you thinking, Beau? Right now?"

I stared at her blankly. "Nothing. Or… I guess I'm wondering what's going on."

"Say something else," she whispered.

"What are you talking about? What is it? Do you hear my _thoughts_?"

Literally nothing felt different about my head. There was no change.

Her face changed again, and she whirled around to face Huilén. Then she leaned down and very lightly placed both of her hands on her huge stomach.

"The fe…" She swallowed, and said, "…the baby… I can hear it!"

There was total silence. Hear its mind? Unborn babies had thoughts?

Huilén started to move around, stirred by Edythe's shocked voice. Then she opened her eyes and flinched as she took in our expressions. She looked just as confused as me. She grabbed Edythe's hand and muttered something.

Then Edythe's left hand moved to a spot on her belly and gently rubbed the place where it must have kicked.

"Shhh," she murmured. Then she said something in Arabic.

"What is it… _thinking_?" I asked.

"It… she… or _he_ is…" She paused and looked up at Huilén. "He's happy," Edythe said in a surprised voice.

Huilén's breath caught, and I could see the gleam of hope in her eyes, the absolute adoration, the devotion to the thing. Tears started to trickle down her face.

"Of course!" she crooned in her strangely accented English. "My happy baby Luka!"

I wasn't sure if it was her own language thrown into the English or a name. "What did she call him?" I asked Edythe.

"She named him…" Edythe hesitated. "I didn't think she'd wanted anyone to know."

"Luka?"

"Yes. L-u-c-a. Luca."

"That's actually a really nice name," I said as I smiled at Huilén. "Is there a reason behind the name?"

Edythe accessed. "She thinks of the father as the dark angel, but she insists that the baby isn't like him. He's the opposite… full of light and peace. That's what the name Luca means. Light."

"Does she have a backup plan?" Royal asked then, leaning over the couch. "What if _he_ is a _she_?"

Edythe translated.

Huilén pondered this for a moment like she hadn't even thought of it herself until now.

"Kee-ruh," she shrugged. "But _he_ is Luca."

"What does that one mean?" I asked.

"That one carries the same meaning as well," Edythe said. "K-i-r-a. Those are both beautiful names."

Luca or Kira… "Yeah, I like those," I assured Huilén. "One of a kind." At least I'd never heard them before.

"It definitely fits the situation," Royal muttered.

Edythe sat there staring off into space. Her face was blank as she listened.

"He loves her," Edythe whispered as her face lit up. Then she interpreted what she was thinking for Huilén.

Edythe seemed so wrapped up in this all of a sudden. It was like she hadn't practically hated this thing just days ago.

But now she looked just as enthralled as Royal. Maybe even more than me. Just in time for everything to hit the fan.

"Tomorrow?" I asked Edythe.

"Tomorrow."

"Does she not get to know?"

"Not exactly. But she's ready…"

"And she hasn't changed her mind? About becoming a vampire?"

Edythe shook her head. "She doesn't want to have to take the lives of others in order to live."

"But what about the baby? I mean Lu—"

"He'll most likely be similar to us, yes. But she has made us promise that he live as we do, without killing humans. She admires Carine for what she does, and she sees the opportunity for her son to be an angel without his father's dark nature."

I pondered over this and all the implications. "And Ati is going to follow through on that? But she doesn't live that way. Why would she expect him to…?"

Edythe looked at me like I was missing something.

"What, you mean _us?"_

She nodded. "She has entrusted us with taking care of her child."

I watched Huilén pick up the Styrofoam. It was empty.

"She's thirsty again," Edythe said.

"I'll get it this time," I said as I walked off to go grab another cup of blood.

I picked up the last bag of AB positive and drained it into another cup. I tossed the empty bag and shook the empty box. "It's a good thing Carine is going to bring back more of this," I said.

When Huilén reached up for the Styrofoam cup, her attempt was so weak it was hard to believe she was really trying.

Tomorrow, she'd be… alive? Dead? Who knew? But hopefully alive. I didn't know what we were supposed to do with a half-vampire, half-human baby. And wouldn't Ati try to take it to raise as her own? That didn't seem like something… that I wanted.

"Can I walk?" Huilén asked us. She looked up the stairs where the bathroom was.

"Are you sure?" Edythe asked.

Huilén nodded, and Edythe and I started to lift her from the couch. With all the blood she'd been drinking, it surprised me she didn't have to go more often.

We got her carefully on her feet. I kept my hands right at her shoulders. She stretched her arms out in front of her and straightened her back, wincing a little.

She was huge. Her massive, discolored abdomen was horribly disproportionate to her small, frail body. She quickly tugged her shirt down to cover it self-consciously.

One more day.

"Oh!" Huilén gasped.

The cup of blood she'd left on the sofa tumbled over as she reached for it. She flinched downward toward it, but it had already spilled all over the pale fabric.

Automatically, all our hands reached out at once to balance her.

At that precise moment, two things happened simultaneously: There was the strangest, muffled breaking sound, and Huilén screamed as if she'd just been stabbed. _"Ahhh!"_


	15. BIRTH

12\. BIRTH

There are no words for what came next. Huilén was suddenly limp, slumping toward the floor, but her body was bent in the totally wrong place. Not at the waist like it should, but in the middle, just under her ribs.

I stared with my mouth open as I realized it was her spine that had just snapped. And I was pretty sure that wasn't something Carine could fix.

All three of us froze in horror for a split second, and then we caught her just as she was about to hit the floor.

"Huilén!" Edythe yelled.

Huilén's eyes unfocused and started to roll back into her skull.

A half second later, she screamed again, and it wasn't just a scream. It was a blood-curdling shriek of pure agony. The horrifying sound cut off abruptly, and her eyes rolled back into her head altogether this time. She twitched violently, arching up in our arms, and then she vomited a fountain of blood.

Huilén's body, covered in her own bloody vomit, started thrashing around violently like she was being electrocuted. But her face was blank, and she was entirely unconscious. It was the wild jerking from inside her body that moved her. With each convulsion came more sharp snaps and cracks.

My mouth continued to hang open as I looked helplessly at Edythe, waiting for her to say something.

Royal was the first to move into action; he had her whipped up into his arms, and he was running. Edythe darted up the staircase to the second floor.

"Morphine!" Royal yelled to Edythe as he followed after her.

Archie came bounding in from the door.

"Archie, get Carine on the phone!" I yelled.

I followed them to the ward upstairs. Royal had placed Huilén on the table under the bright operation lights. Her body flopped like a fish out of water. He pinned her down and yanked her clothes out of the way. Then Edythe was stabbing a syringe into her before I could fully process anything.

"What's happening, Edythe?" I shouted.

"The baby is suffocating," she said in a hard voice. "The placenta must have detached!"

Suddenly, the light came back into Huilén's eyes, just in time for her to start screaming at us, her words a mix of Arabic and English.

"Get him OUT!" she screamed, along with something unintelligible. Then she shrieked again, "He can't BREATHE! DO IT NOW!" This was followed by some more of something I couldn't understand.

I saw the red spots pop out in her eyes as she screamed.

"The morphine has to spread," Edythe said hastily.

"DO IT NOW!" she shouted, grabbing Edythe by the shirt. Another gush of blood choked her off. She slung her head around violently, trying to clear her mouth so that she could breathe again.

Archie darted into the room and put a Bluetooth earpiece in Royal's ear. Then he backed away, his eyes gold and burning. Royal hissed frantically into the phone.

Deep red was seeping beneath the skin over the huge, twitching bulge of Huilén's stomach. Royal's hand came up with a scalpel.

"Let it spread, Royal!" Edythe shouted.

"We can't wait any longer!" Royal protested.

Then Huilén's body thrashed even harder, and the taut skin over her belly started ripping open in a jagged split on the left side. Blood poured out of the wound.

The thing was going to rip its own way out, just like the legends.

The scent of the fresh blood ripped through me instantly, and I took three steps back away from her. Fire blazed down my throat, begging to be put out. I gasped, sucking in a sharp breath and holding it there.

Royal jumped back away as well, and I heard his breath hitch in his throat.

Edythe snatched the scalpel from him, and her hand came down Huilén's stomach, and more of the red spouted out from where she pierced the skin. It was like a faucet of red was being turned on. Huilén jerked her head back, but she didn't scream. She was still choking.

And then I lost all focus. I closed my eyes and twisted my face up in agony. The heat… the smell… the sound. The pounding heart beat louder now. Intense fire flooded through my throat and stomach. I could feel myself slip away from my body, and my feet started moving forward against my will.

"Beau, no!" Royal shouted. Edythe looked up at me, but her hands were trapped, trying to get a hold of Huilén's flailing limbs.

A force like a wrecking ball slammed into me, knocking me down, and Royal and I were suddenly sliding across the floor away from the table. He held his hand down against my face, locking my jaw and blocking my nose.

Then Archie was there, pulling him away from me by his shirt.

"Archie, get him out of here!" Edythe shouted. "Royal, I need your help!"

"No! I'm fine!" I felt immensely guilty immediately. It was just so unexpected, and my mind was so distracted by the situation. "I promise I'm good now. Thanks, Royal."

Archie looked at me disapprovingly.

I ran back over to Edythe. Royal stood on the other side of Huilén.

"Try to clear her throat and get her breathing!" she demanded. Then she went back to the slicing.

Royal looked at me critically. "CPR?"

"Yeah, I know how!"

Another shattering crack sounded from inside her. The loudest yet. But there was no shriek. Her legs went limp now, sprawling out in an unnatural way.

"Oh, God, I think her spinal cord is severed," Edythe choked out.

"C'mon, Edythe! Get it out of her!" I snarled as I tried to continue holding my breath.

And then I bent over Huilén's head. She was unconscious again, but it looked like she'd cleared her throat out. I pressed my mouth onto hers and blew air into her lungs. Her body expanded, so nothing was blocking her throat.

Her lips tasted like blood.

I stopped breathing again. I clenched my teeth down hard. I could hear her heart beating unevenly. Then it started to falter.

Royal started doing chest compressions before it could miss a beat. I heard the soft, wet sound of the blade slicing across her stomach. I heard more blood pour onto the floor.

Then, underneath the sound of skin tearing, a terrifying, grating screech that sounded like metal being shredded came from her body.

I turned to look, and Edythe had her face pressed to the woman's abdomen.

I gasped as I reached frantically toward her, ready to knock her away this time. Until I realized what she was actually doing. Of course, the simple blade wasn't able to cut through the protective barrier. She was tearing into the abdomen with her teeth.

I blew more air into Huilén.

"Come on, stay with me," I pleaded with her lifeless body. "Just hold on a little longer!"

Royal pressed onto her chest ten times, then I blew two puffs of air into her in between the pauses. Back and forth, back and forth.

The whole nightmare seemed utterly helpless. Her body was being destroyed faster than we could attempt to heal it. And who knew if Edythe would even be able to get to the thing in time. It was probably all a wasted effort.

All the king's horses and all the king's men… couldn't put Huilén back together again.

But then her twitching body was suddenly still underneath me, and that only meant one thing.

It was over. Edythe must have gotten it out.

And there it was.

Edythe whispered the name softly. "Luca…"

So Huilén had been right. It was the boy she'd imagined after all.

Huilén coughed suddenly, and her eyes blinked, rolling blindly. Then they immediately focused on the baby held in front of her. All the life came back to her face in that moment.

"Give… him… to me," Huilén croaked out in a whisper.

The warmth of the baby touched my arm.

"Luca… so beautiful," she was barely able to moan in a weak croon.

Luca did not cry, but he breathed in and out sharply in quick, startled pants as if he were trying to catch his breath. His eyes were wide open, fully alert to his surroundings.

His expression was so shocked and confused it was almost funny… The way he looked at us wasn't baby-like at all. It was like he was fully aware of everything that was going on as his eyes darted around frantically at us. It was like he was terrified to see us.

It was hard to get a good look at him. His full head of thick brown hair was tangled, matted with blood and other placental goo, and his face was also covered in a thick layer of the dark mush.

Edythe rested the bloody baby onto Huilén's chest. Her arms weakly tried to wrap around him, but Edythe didn't let go of him.

Tears rolled down Huilén's face as she stared at her baby boy. She murmured softly to him in her own language, and Luca stared up at her like he was fully attuned to whatever she was saying. It was a mesmerizing thing to watch. The exchange went on for a long moment as Luca stared silently up at his mother's face. Then Huilén started feebly tugging at him, trying to bring him in closer. Edythe smiled as she nudged him forward in her arms just another inch.

And then the baby inhaled sharply through its nose. In an all-too-quick motion for an infant, he suddenly leaned his face down to bury it above Huilén's left breast, and there was a crunching sound.

Huilén gasped out in pain as her arms flinched away from him, like she had grabbed something scorching hot.

Edythe snatched the warm, bloody baby out of her limp arms. Fresh blood poured from a tiny double-crescent bite mark on her chest.

"No!" Edythe gasped in horror.

And then Huilén shrieked even louder than before.

"He bit her…" Edythe's voice had no volume, like she'd run out of air.

The upper half of Huilén's body jerked side to side so violently now, I thought she'd throw herself off the table.

"Beau, take the baby!" Edythe said urgently.

"No, give him to me." Royal snatched him from Edythe's bloody arms. He was already holding a damp towel.

Edythe looked at me frantically.

"Edythe? What's happening?"

She gritted her teeth. "The venom is in her blood now. It's going to happen, and there's no way I can stop it."

"What?!" My voice caught in horror. "Edythe, you have to stop it! She said didn't want this!"

"Look where he bit her, Beau! I won't be able to suck all the venom out when it has already reached her heart."

Edythe's words sank in for a second, and then I watched as she reached for another huge syringe of morphine. She jabbed it into Huilén's arm and slammed the plunger down, expelling the entire contents into her directly—an obvious overdose.

Edythe pulled back and waited expectantly.

Huilén's heart took off fluttering like a hummingbird. She screamed again, grasping at the hole on her chest. Edythe stood there with a half-crazed expression.

"It's supposed to be working," she said frantically to herself. "That should have stopped her heart. Why isn't it working?"

Huilén thrashed harder and harder, and Edythe had to restrain her. She screamed so loudly now it sounded like her vocal cords were ripping apart. The sounds grew more and more airy and hoarse.

I blinked spastically, trying to think of a plan. This was the worst-case scenario. Huilén hadn't wanted to survive if it meant she couldn't be human. "You have to kill her, Edythe! Before it's too late!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do? It's not working, Beau!"

"Why is it not working?"

"I don't know! There's only one thing I can do to help her now."

Before I could respond, Edythe put her lips to Huilén's throat and started biting her.

"Edythe, no! You can't!" I shouted.

But she didn't stop. She moved to Huilén's arms, her wrists, her hands. The lush tearing sound of teeth piercing skin was sending the frenzy through me again. I had to look away. Edythe bit, again and again, trying to get as much venom into her system as possible.

Luca's bite was a very small, insignificant source of venom. The change would be as slow as possible, drawing out the pain any longer, so Edythe could only speed up the transformation now. Huilén would have to be one of us, against her will.

Huilén only screamed more and more with each bite. Her eyes were entirely red now as the blood vessels burst inside them. She choked more blood out again as she convulsed away from the fire.

I wanted to somehow bleach the inside of my head to wash the images away, to get rid of it all.

Huilén's heartbeat picked up faster and faster. It was racing off like a helicopter blade now.

Edythe's face looked puzzled. She put two fingers down on the woman's wrist.

And suddenly, her heart went into this arrhythmic stuttering, beating spastically with no common interval. And with one last dull _ga-lump_ , everything went silent.

Her body went totally limp on the table.

"What the hell?" Edythe whispered.

"What just happened?" I said as I jumped over toward her.

"Her heart stopped… The venom, though… I don't understand."

The venom had _stopped_ her heart, rather than keep it going through the drugs? Was it somehow toxic to her, the way true venom should be? I thought it was always the miracle serum that saved people from the brink of death.

Edythe waited a few seconds more for any sort of change, a sign that it wasn't really over. Then she spoke to me calmly. "Go downstairs. I'll take care of this."

I plodded down the stairs mindlessly. I'd just seen someone die… At least she didn't have to become a vampire when she didn't want to.

And I'd also just witnessed a birth…

Luca.

Royal was on the clean end of the sofa, with his back to me, cooing and murmuring to the blanket-wrapped baby. There was a sucking sound and the scent of fresh blood in the air. But it was different blood, not Huilén's. Royal was feeding him.

It didn't seem right. The thing that had just ripped a woman nearly in two was now consuming more of the life-sustaining substance, only someone else's now. It went against nature.

When I came into view, the baby peered past Royal's shoulder at me with a gaze that was fare more focused than any newborn's eyes should be.

Warm, glowing eyes, exactly the same color as Huilén's.

And it was when my gaze locked on the tiny pair of magnificent eyes staring back at me that I realized the world as I knew it would be changed forever.

I stared uncomprehendingly at the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. His tiny, fully-aware face was so absolutely perfect it stunned me. He was even more beautiful than Edythe—impossible. I was immediately won over.

Luca raised one hand with extreme sureness—something newborns definitely didn't do—and reached to touch Royal's throat.

His porcelain face was astonishing in the perfection. For some reason, I'd always pictured this hideous, demonic monster child. But that wasn't the case at all.

I could see Huilén there in his features. It was in the color of his eyes and cheeks, which flushed warm with blood. He did smell human in a way, but the appeal wasn't entirely there. The familiar, sweet vampire scent also mixed in with it and turned the attraction off.

Then Luca let out a high, ringing wail. Royal and I both reacted frantically. The sound of Luca's cry pierced through us. It was like he was in pain.

But his face smoothed back out when I ran over to them.

"Yes, that's Beau," Royal said in the gentlest voice I'd ever heard him speak with. "I think he wants you," he said to me.

Luca's tiny little hand stretched out toward me, grasping into fists again and again.

Royal passed the swaddled baby into my arms, and his skin was so warm that I flinched. His tiny heart thrummed at twice the normal rate, almost like a bird rather than a human.

Then he looked up at me, showing his full set of square little teeth and dimples. He reached out for my face.

I leaned into him, and his tiny hand pushed into my much cooler skin.

I recoiled at the rapid onslaught of images that flooded my brain.

I gasped, startled by the things that suddenly filled my head. It was like looking back at a memory. In fact, it was one of my memories. But the perspective was different. It was how it would have looked through _his_ eyes.

The memory was Huilén's face, ravaged, covered in sweat and blood. Despite the horrific look of her, she still smiled adoringly. And the scene shifted next to my face, the way it should look from outside my body, rather than reflected in a mirror.

Then the image abruptly vanished as his hand dropped from my cheek.

"What the hell?" I breathed.

"I said the same thing myself," Royal said.

"What was _that_?"

"What did you see?" Royal asked, beaming with curiosity. "He showed you Huilén, didn't he?"

 _"Showed_ me?" I whispered. "Yes. But _how_?"

"Hell if I know. I almost dropped him the first time he did it to me. Scared the hell out of me. It must be some sort of talent…" Royal mused. "He makes you see what he wants you to see. It's kind of funny, sort of like the opposite to what Edythe does."

The baby's chocolate brown eyes examined me with interest that was not at all childlike. It was like a fully-matured, intelligent awareness was staring at me.

In a whoosh of air, footsteps were bounding up the steps of the porch. Seconds later I heard Carine suck in a shocked breath. I turned to see her and Earnest, whose face was just as full of concern. Jessamine's eyes widened, but then she smiled. Ati's mouth screwed up into a worried grimace.

And then the child in my arms, struggling against me, reached out toward them, and let out another ringing wail. Everyone reacted the same way Royal and I had. They swarmed around us in a split second, faces full of fear.

"What's the matter? Is he hurt?" Ati asked.

"No, he's fine," Royal reassured her.

"May I hold you, baby Luca?" Ati asked, taking the baby from my arms. I was almost reluctant to let go.

"I've been waiting three millennia for something like you," Ati whispered to him.

Then Luca placed his hand up to Ati's chin.

Ati's whole body straightened as if she had been electrocuted. At the same time, she let out a sharp gasp. "Oh, my!"

Reflexively, everyone tensed toward them.

"What is it, Ati?" Carine pressed, her voice full of worry.

"What sorcery do you possess, sweet child?" Ati said with an excited admiration.

I knew exactly what he had shown her, and now there was no concern at all on her face for Huilén.

Ati smiled at Carine. "You're never going to believe this." Then she lifted Luca's hand from her face and leaned toward Carine to press it into hers.

Carine's face went blank with the same shock immediately. "Oh, no!" she gasped, backing away from the contact. "Huilén! Is she…?" Carine looked to me for answers.

I pressed my lips into a tight line. I shook my head once.

"But it looks like he… _bit_ her. Was it too late?"

Edythe appeared at the top of the stairs then. "No. I don't know what happened, Carine. He started the change, and I tried to accelerate it to expedite the transformation process, but—"

"Edythe!" Carine gasped. "We promised."

"He bit her, Carine! And I gave her a morphine overdose, but it wouldn't work. We had no choice after that… But as soon as it reached her heart… it stopped."

"Stopped?"

"Yes. And the venom didn't heal the bite wounds either. Have you heard of anything like this happening before?"

"Maybe it was toxic to her," I jumped in. "His venom, I mean. What if it's different somehow because, well, _he_ is different from us."

Carine pondered this for a moment. "Perhaps the venom isn't an absolute thing like we'd thought. Maybe there's always a risk that it won't induce the change and will merely work as a typical neurotoxin. I haven't had enough experience with the transformation. I'd need to do some examination."

I heard Eleanor sigh. "Enough of the medical talk. If no one is going to explain to me about this kid, I'll just find out for myself!"

At the sound of her voice, Luca leaned toward her, and his tiny face was expectant as if he knew what she wanted. He reached his arm out to her.

When he touched Eleanor's face, she did not react in surprise as everyone else had. She let out a big "ha!" and smiled a huge grin at him. "Cool!" she said. "It's like I'm doing what Edythe does."

"It's an interesting twist…" Edythe said to Carine. "Doesn't it remind you of Zafron?"

"Indeed…"

"Who is Zafron?" I asked.

"A man that I met once in the Amazon jungle. He can project imagery into your head like… _Luca?_ …but without the contact. The difference is that his gift totally obscures field of view. You only see what he is showing you at the moment."

"That's so cool."

"Amazing, isn't he?" Royal said, stealing the baby back from Eleanor.

Then they were all abruptly arguing over who got to feed him the bottle next.

But that was going to be one small thing compared to the debate I knew was coming all too soon. Who would win the privilege of raising this kid?

What was the right thing to do with him? Was it right to send him back to Egypt? To find his father? I'm sure that would go over extremely well with Ati. But would none of us keeping him be the kindest thing to do? It didn't seem right.

I would miss the little guy if he were gone already. But did he truly belong here? I'd barely gotten used to the fact that _I_ belonged here. I'd never factored a baby into the equation.

But then I thought of just how cognizant Luca was. What if he were to decide where he goes himself?

That would be the solution I would propose.

We all sat around discussing the specifics of vampire/human hybrids while everyone watched Luca with awestruck wonder. He was passed to and fro over and over again. Not a single person had any trace of the repulsion they'd once felt. As soon as you saw his angelic face, you couldn't help but love him.

Carine brought a handful of odd things down. A measuring tape, a thermometer, a scale, a sphygmomanometer. She idly took down measurements on a notepad as everyone murmured on about him.

Eventually, it was almost the break of dawn.

"Must be six," Edythe said.

"His sleep patterns are going to be so messed up," Royal said.

"Sleep?" I asked. Did vampire babies need sleep?

Just as I turned to look doubtfully at Luca, his eyes were fluttering closed. He yawned, his full pink lips stretching into a big O, and the high-pitched sigh that came out was the most adorable thing ever.

Everyone awed.

"Okay, Beau. Your turn," Royal said, handing him to me.

We exchanged him so smoothly that he would have never noticed.

Out of curiosity, I carefully lifted his tiny palm up and placed it on my cheek. I instantly got a rundown of just about every moment of the past day. The most prominent one, though, was the image of the outrageously icky white stuff, baby formula, that Carine had tried to sneak into his bottle. It had smelled disgusting to him. He even played back the image of Edythe humming a song softly to him just before he'd fallen asleep.

Then things got slightly blurry around the edges and went out of focus. I looked down at him almost in a panic, but nothing had changed. The images of the day slowly faded away into nothing. But then, after only a few minutes, a flickering of colors appeared. It was like watching distorted butterfly-shaped objects dance around in the air, scattered in his dreams.

I was absolutely mesmerized by it. I couldn't pull the small hand away. There was no rhyme or reason to it, just color, and shape, and blurry faces. And I was really smug at how often my face, and Edythe's, popped up. More than anyone else.

Now I sort of understood how Edythe was able to watch me sleep at night so long ago. Just so she could hear my sleep-talking. I could watch Luca's abstract dreaming forever.

Royal smiled at me, and I was glad that the bitterness between us seemed to be entirely gone now. We'd fought together on the same side for long enough now that we seemed like friends after all.

Edythe and Carine were speculating away about why Luca was able to use his gift on me, but no one else could. And the thought only occurred to me now. It was funny how I hadn't questioned it before.

"Maybe it's because he's this in-between state of being," I said. "His mind works in such a different way that it can more easily match up with mine."

"That's the best explanation so far," Edythe shrugged. "It's frustrating, though."

It seemed very natural to lean in and press my lips to his forehead. He smelled wonderful. The closeness of the scent turned the heat up in my throat, but it was easy to ignore.

He was real. The miracle, one-of-a-kind demon child, who was actually an angel child. _This_ was the same child Huilén had fought for all this time. She was right… about all of it. She'd loved him from the inside even as he had killed her.

I was right, too. I mean, I'd had my doubts, but had I really expected some hideous monster to come out? No matter how bad his father may have been, Luca was still half vampire, which actually made him better, rather than detracting. It left him with all of the pros of being a vampire while seeming to leave out the cons.

Huilén had been right all along. And I knew that if she were here with us now, she'd agree that he was worth every bit of it.


	16. EXTRAORDINARY

13\. EXTRAORDINARY

The first thing Luca did when he woke up in the morning was lean into Royal to sink his teeth into his upper arm.

Eleanor burst out laughing. "Looks like someone's hungry!"

Royal pulled him away gingerly. "Hey now… That wasn't very nice," he said as if he were reprimanding him.

Luca just stared up at him like he wasn't at all amused, as if to warn him he better get that blood bottle in his mouth fast.

As soon as the bottle was in his mouth, he snatched it from Royal's hand and chugged it so quickly it was like he'd been dying of thirst.

Well, damn.

Everyone laughed.

Carine stepped over then with a tape measure. "Time to measure again."

"How many times are we going to do this?" Royal asked.

"I should probably do it several times a day, at the least. He's going to be growing so quickly. I can already see it."

And I could have sworn I saw Luca sigh in response to what she was saying.

The difference between the child Huilén had given birth to yesterday and the child now was clearly noticeable. His body was longer and slimmer ever so slightly. His face wasn't quite as round. It stretched out more by just a hint of a degree. His hair, which was already long and thick, hung down maybe an eighth of an inch lower down the back of his head.

What was odd was that how he seemed to stretch out helpfully in Royal's arms so Carine could take the length measurement. It was like he'd understood the purpose of the object. Then she wrapped the tape around the circumference of his head, writing down each dimension in her notepad.

It was so crazy to think about how quickly he had been born; I wondered now what this meant for the future. He had grown from one single cell to a full-term baby in just around one month, based on Carine's estimates. And he looked another week older just after one day. What would happen if the growth held at this rate?

My vampire mind had no trouble extrapolating that.

"What's going to happen to him if he keeps growing?" I asked. And I could tell the others had the same thing on their minds.

"I honestly don't know," Carine whispered. "I'll need several days of measurements to track it, to see if the growth rate is slowing at all. He's grown one and a half inches since birth. Hopefully, tomorrow it will be less."

Luca seemed irritated. He started to fester around in Royal's arm and reached up to his face. Royal leaned forward to 'listen.' After a second, Royal sighed.

"What is it?" Carine asked.

"Beau," Royal admitted. "He just loves him for some reason."

Edythe chuckled. "Well, Beau _was_ the first person he saw after his mother. He must think of him as his father. And just look at him—his face is so gentle, it's probably comforting to a baby."

Luca smiled a brilliant smile, flashing a full set of pearly white teeth.

"Well, hopefully, Beau tastes better than I do," Royal joked as he handed him over to me.

"You wouldn't do that to _me_ now, would you?" I crooned as I lifted him high up in the air.

Luca grinned at me with an almost mischievous smile, as if to say, _Ha… watch me._

He put his hand to my face as soon as he got the chance. He was remembering me holding him yesterday.

I laughed. "Yes, I'm still me."

"He seems to greet everyone that way, doesn't he?" Edythe added. "By showing you who you are, just in case you didn't know already."

As I looked away, Luca patted my face impatiently to get my attention. Another image cropped into my mind: Carine with the tape measure. There was an unpleasant feeling that went along with the picture.

"I think he wants me to tell you he doesn't like all the measurements, Carine," I said.

Carine smiled, and she looked like herself again. "He'll have to get used to it," she laughed. "I have to say, he's a spectacle of medical science. I couldn't pass up the opportunity."

Then Luca thought of the burning in his throat, and the bottle, filled with dark red, imagining the ultimate relief tied to the action of sucking down all the blood. My throat burst into flames as he bombarded me with the taste that was a million times better than what I'd been able to experience.

And then Luca was out of my arms.

I looked at Edythe's frightened face as she held Luca protectively. "What did I do?"

"He was remembering drinking human blood, the taste of it," Edythe muttered.

"Yeah, I'm aware," I agreed. "Your point?"

Edythe frowned for a second. Then she laughed. "Nothing. I guess I'm not surprised… It's just that I watched your pupils dilate with the thirst, and it startled me. That's all."

When she handed him back to me, he touched my neck and repeated the scene of departure back to me from his view. It was like watching an instant replay. And I could sense the question in the thought.

"I don't know. She's silly," I explained as if he would know what I was saying.

Later when we sat Luca down on the floor, I realized it was the first time he'd ever been out of someone's arms. We had him sitting up on the floor, all of us hovering over him. With no baby toys to speak of, we handed him the first things we could come up with. It didn't take him long to mangle up one of Earnest's silver spoons.

He soon had the spoon mangled into a circle, and suddenly he smashed it down hard into the floor, leaving a divot in the wood. Then he launched the spoon at Royal, striking him in the back of the head. His audience laughed. Archie, Carine, Jess, Earnest, and Ati were sitting on the couch. They'd all been watching him as if he were the most engrossing film.

Edythe leaned down to speak to him. "Luca, it isn't nice to throw things."

And that brought up the question. "Wait… Can he actually understand you?" I asked out of curiosity.

"He understands in a way. He doesn't make thoughts using language yet, but he seems to be able to interpret the inflection, tone, reactions, and such the words carry. He takes meaning from the context."

"Wow… Well, that's pretty cool, actually," I mused. "But c'mon, Edythe. You don't have to parent him like that."

"It's my job," she laughed. "After all, the story _is_ that he's my nephew… If anyone asks, I had a sister who was also adopted, and the courts located me after she died in a car accident, leaving her only child without any other family."

I had to laugh at that one. "Oh, so you're a mom now, I guess?"

She winked. "That makes you the dad."

"I don't know. That's kind of a big responsibility."

Luca threw another piece of silverware, and Edythe caught it mid-flight.

Then there was a giggle, a high-pitched, bell-like cackle.

"Did he just laugh?"

Everyone was looking at him.

"Yes," Edythe said. "Not funny!" she mused with a smile.

Luca picked up a metal bowl, and I thought he was going to throw it across the room, too. Instead, he put it between his arms and squeezed, a little dent forming on his forehead as he concentrated.

There was a bending sound as the sides of the bowl caved in.

I was about to laugh again, but then the sun suddenly burst through the clouds, and long beams of light shot across the ten of us. I was always dazed by everyone's beauty in the sunlight.

Luca reached out and touched the diamond facets in Edythe's skin, then laid his arm next to hers. His skin actually did have a faint luminosity. It was very subtle. Nothing that would keep him hidden away on sunny days. His brow furrowed. He touched her face, probably thinking of the difference.

"He thinks you're pretty," I said.

"I'm not sure I can agree with that," she said.

I rolled my eyes. And just to prove me right, the sunlight danced across Edythe's face, stunning me into silence.

"Oh, you think _I'm_ amazing…" she said to him.

"What a remarkable creature he is," Carine murmured.

He was more special than all of us put together. And that was definitely saying something.

As I sat sprawled out on the floor with Luca, watching him play with things, or rather destroy them, he kept stopping every few minutes to touch my face. He would show me a rundown of every little thing that had happened in the last moments, and I could tell that he was intent that I know every bit of it. It was like it worried him that I was missing things, like I hadn't seen it all myself.

One thing in particular was how the sparrows had hopped closer and closer to the open door as they pecked around outside. But when Royal walked too near them, they flew away. And Luca was so disappointed by it. Watching him observe the ordinary world around us for the first time was fascinating. Everything small thing I would have taken for granted, like the birds, was mind-blowing to him.

Luca stared in wonder at the rain as it rolled down the glass panels of the south wall, and then his attention diverted to the yellow flowers in the garden that started to blow in the wind. Sitting here, watching it all with him, trying to think about it as if I had never seen any of it before put a new perspective on it all. It made me really appreciate all the ordinary things around us as miracles… Just like this miracle I'd met only hours ago.

And he was so _expressive_. It was like I was interacting with a baby that had been born two months ago, not yesterday.

"I think I've figured it out," Carine said, holding a readout from some piece of medical equipment. "What went wrong with Huilén…"

Everyone turned to look at her. "I did a post-mortem serum analysis," she said, analyzing the printout. "Her immune globulin levels were massive."

This clearly meant something to Edythe, the next most trained medical professional in the house. "She must have built up an active immunity to his tissues for the duration of the pregnancy."

Carine nodded. "That's what I'm thinking. It seems that when he bit her, the venom induced anaphylactic shock."

Allergic to her baby? I never would have guessed that.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with his venom being different, could it?" I asked out of curiosity.

"I took a sample of his saliva," Carine said. "I can't find any difference between his and ours, though, I'm not exactly sure what differences to look for."

"Woo!" Eleanor suddenly shouted. She was looking at the muted TV.

We all looked at her. "Sorry… Football," she explained. "Florida just scored."

I heard Ati sigh from across the room. She didn't understand Eleanor's fascination with human sports… And really, I couldn't either. Eleanor could undoubtedly go out there and play football better than anyone in the NFL could.

All day, Ati had never relaxed the stiff set of her shoulders. It was probably irritating her that we were all getting so attached to the kid she probably was going to try and claim. She was obviously in no hurry to leave.

I wanted to ask Edythe about it. She'd know. But Ati never left Luca's sight.

The Egyptians were all still here, showing no intention of leaving. I wondered when the argument we all were avoiding would ensue.

Archie was sitting in his usual spot on the staircase, with Jessamine's head in his lap. I wondered if his headaches had gotten any better. Earnest was sketching something on a notepad. Royal had picked up two decks of cards, and it looked like he was laying out the foundation for a massive house of cards for Luca, which he'd probably knock down soon enough. Edythe had drifted over to the Steinway and was playing something I'd never heard before softly to herself.

I noticed Luca's attention had drifted from Royal and the playing cards. He was staring at Edythe with his head tilted in wonder at the sound of the piano.

"He likes that, Edythe. Play it louder," I said.

She smiled and looked over at Luca. Then she cocked her head back, motioning for me to bring him over.

I lifted him to take him over to Edythe. She slid over on the piano bench, and I settled in next to her, holding Luca up on my legs. And I could have sworn I was hardly doing anything to assist him in standing up straight, though it was hard to be certain, and I wouldn't dare let go.

Edythe started to play louder, and it was still unfamiliar.

But then she started to _sing_. And not like she usually did, which was always more of a modest hum. This time she fully enunciated the words in her angel-like voice that was more heavenly than any recording artist out there. I'd never heard her sing like this before. I recognized the words immediately; it was Duran Duran's _Ordinary World_ , only a much more melodramatic version that suited her feather-like voice. She sang it softly for him.

Came in from a rainy Thursday on the avenue

Thought I heard you talking softly

I turned on the lights, the TV, and the radio

Still, I can't escape the ghost of you

Luca looked every bit as mesmerized as I was. I even started to think he might actually _cry_ for once, but I couldn't get a good look at his face. He was so attuned to her it was adorable.

What has happened to it all?

Crazy, some are saying

Where is the life that I recognize?

Gone away

But I won't cry for yesterday

There's an ordinary world, somehow I have to find

And as I try to make my way to the ordinary world

I will learn to survive

Edythe sustained the last syllable, sliding up in pitch so high it would have made my head spin. She smiled again as she kept playing the keys.

Luca pressed his hand to my throat, repeating the end of Edythe's vocals, and he looked inquisitively at me. He wanted to hear more.

And he was clearly impatient, because he suddenly slammed his little hand down onto the keys in the high register, decorating the song with a dissonant _bing!_

Edythe and I both laughed. Luca smiled at our reactions to him, then he started pounding both his palms down on the keys, fascinated by the sounds they were making. He laughed his trilling giggle again.

I heard the television come to life in the other room suddenly. Eleanor must have unmuted it. But it wasn't a ballgame that I heard.

The alarmed babble of a female news anchor sounded through the house. "Seattle is in an absolute state of terror. For now, police are calling it unprecedented gang activity. But there could very well be a mass murderer on the loose as the missing-person reports reach extraordinary numbers."

We listened intently to the latest news report. The death toll in the past few weeks in Seattle had skyrocketed. The city was well on its way to becoming the murder capital of the country. Not a single one of the endless homicides in recent months had been solved.

Then a medical examiner came on the screen and mentioned how all the victims had one thing in common; they were entirely drained of blood.

"It has to be vampires, obviously," I said wryly.

Everyone looked at me then.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Edythe shrugged. "More often than you'd think, our kind is the source behind this sort of thing."

"Do you think it could be newborns?" Carine asked her.

"Well, with all the poorly-disposed corpses, lack of DNA evidence, and it all happening at night, it would seem that way. But I can't imagine anyone responsible for a newborn letting them behave this way."

"Does this always happen with new vampires?" I asked.

Carine shook her head. "No. The creator has a responsibility to control the newborn, which is what puzzles me. Who would risk allowing them to be so conspicuous?"

"Clearly, the person responsible isn't watching out for the newborn, or doesn't care," Jessamine added. "But it's definitely our kind. When you know what to look for it's so easy to recognize. They're bloodthirsty, wild, merciless… The way we all were—well, most of us at least. From the looks of it, I bet there's more than just one."

She shot me an accusing glance. Leave it to me to behave as abnormally as possible in every situation life threw at me.

"Should we do something about it?" I asked.

"It isn't really our place," Jessamine said. "This sort of thing happens all the time. As long as it isn't getting too close to home, we shouldn't be concerned."

"But all those people…" I sighed, watching the newsreel.

Edythe snuck a side glance at Ati and her family. "Beau, this sort of thing happens all across the world every day. There are thousands of us out there. We normally try not to pay much attention to this sort of thing."

Jessamine rolled up her shirtsleeves then, revealing her forearms, something she rarely did. She never left them exposed. "Besides. I've had my fair share of experience mixing it up with newborns… And I can't say I miss it," she said with a laugh.

I didn't think the scars would have been visible to mortal eyes, but there was no denying them with mine. The crescent-moon scars crisscrossed all over her skin, almost giving her arms an embossed texture. I realized what the scars were when one of them that was more isolated toward her left hand resembled the faded white teeth marks left on my hand.

"Whoa…" I said, putting Luca back in place next to Royal and the house of cards. "Jess, what happened to you?"

"You've really only experienced what life is like for us in the North," she explained. "But originally, I started out in the South. Things are much different for our kind there. You see more of a civilized manner to the nomads wandering through this region. We can enjoy life both in the day and at night. There, they can only roam about at night, and they spend all day hiding, plotting their next move and making enemies. Vampires get very… territorial for whatever reason there."

"Territorial?" I asked with wary curiosity.

Ati, speaking for the first time in a long time, chimed in at our conversation. "You're used to seeing vampires in large groups, typically known as covens. That's because you're only around the most civilized of immortals. In the majority of cases, vampires are solitary, or they form a bond with just one mate, much like how a human finds a spouse. But beyond that, it's rare to see us in groups. Preying on humans in groups doesn't ever end well. There is… violence over the meal."

"She's right," Jess went on. "This is what led to the wars in the South. Vampires fought for territory where they could hunt in solitude. Everyone sought to eliminate competition. They were all terrified of the Volturi as well. If too many vampires were in one area, suspicions would rise."

I shuddered at the thought of the Volturi and the creepy watch they kept over everything. I guess you couldn't have a conversation about vampire history without mentioning them.

"That's where the fever for conquest began. Vampires would create armies of newborns and fight against each other. Little did the yearlings know, their creators had no intention of keeping them around after they had done their job. All hell broke loose, especially in Mexico, around the time of the Civil War. The body count reached epidemic proportions. In fact, human history blames disease for that particular death toll. And then the Volturi stepped in and eliminated every last army of newborns and their creators. Mexico was almost devoid of vampires for several years."

"So you were one of those newborns? How did you escape?" I asked.

"Well, after the Volturi returned to Italy, the few remaining vampires got smarter. They still had vendettas out for each other, and they returned to their old ways. Except this time, they were better able to stay under the radar. That's when a man named Martino found me. He caught me wandering about all alone outside of Galveston one night, something women shouldn't do at the time, and he just ran up and bit me. He was putting together a super army. He had some sort of sense of which humans would have the most potential. We were all taught how to fight, and especially how to stay invisible to the humans. We were rewarded when we did well. Soon, Martino grew fond of me, and I became his favorite. Eventually, he put me in charge of purging the newborns. After the first year of the peak newborn strength would wear off, they were no longer useful to him. After he had gained the claim he wanted in Monterrey, he let his army die out, and I was the only one who stayed with him. Of course, he had to create more here and there when the occasional confrontation would arise, but he always won. After a few more years, he turned a girl named Petrina. She lasted a lot longer than the usual recruits, and I developed a friendship with her. She was so different from the others, more civilized. But the day came when Martino instructed me to get rid of her, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I had grown tired of the life Martino had created for me, so I took the high road with Petrina. We stayed together for a few decades until she found her mate, Charles. They still visit on occasion."

I had always thought of the Cullens as a family connected entirely by blood, or rather venom. Carine had turned Edythe, then turned Earnest, then Royal, then Eleanor. And then Edythe had assisted in turning me. I knew Archie came from elsewhere, but I hadn't really thought about Jessamine's backstory much.

"So how exactly did you make the transition to Carine's lifestyle? When did you meet her?"

"My conscious, as you could call it, actually came from my extrasensory gift. You see, I don't just manipulate people's emotions. I feel them too. Every person I ever killed, I had to feel their fear and pain in their last moments. It got to me every single time. I grew very depressed, as you can imagine. I started to hate myself and think of myself as a monster, much the same way Edythe did since she could hear what they were thinking. I wandered away from my friends because they didn't understand the way I felt. And then, one day in Philadelphia, there he was. He knew I was coming, of course." She smiled and looked over at Archie. "He held out his hand, and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing. For the first time in a century, I felt _hope._ "

"Took you long enough," Archie said to her. "You're lucky I'm patient. Twenty-eight years was a long, lonely time."

I remembered this part of the story. "Why hadn't you just gone to find her sooner?"

Archie shrugged. "I had to make sure she was ready for me, and for Carine. I'd been using the time to practice vegetarianism."

They stared at each other for a moment with an expression I empathized entirely with, then she turned her attention back to me, with the soft look on her face remaining.

"Archie told me what he had seen of the strange family up north, led by a woman named Carine, and I couldn't believe it. It was exactly the escape from all the chaos I was looking for. I hadn't been so optimistic about life in decades. So we set out to find them."

"Yeah, you scared the hell out of us, too," Edythe muttered. "You should have seen it. These two strangers just turned up out of nowhere; one was covered in scars, and the other knew all our names and everything else about us. They just wandered in asking which room they could move into."

Carine and Earnest laughed with each other at the memory. Jess and Archie kissed. Their affection made me incredibly grateful for them, that they'd been able to find each other in this big world. It was just as much a miracle that I'd crossed paths with Edythe.

"You know," I said to Edythe. "I think I've heard all the stories now. Carine… Earnest… Royal… Eleanor… Jess and Arch… Even Benji and Tiago. But I think the one I know least about is you."

"Do you not remember?" she asked. "When you were still human I told you. Spanish influenza."

"I know that much. But not anything else. What were you like? What was your family like? I want to know."

Edythe sighed at having to dredge up the old memories. "My birth name was Edythe Anne Masen," she began. "I grew up during the turn of the twentieth century in Chicago. I was the only child of Elizabeth and Edward Masen. We were an upper-middle-class family, I suppose. I attended a private school. I wasn't very close to my father. He was a lawyer, and he was always busy with his work. I was my mother's world, though…"

"So were you a musician back then? Is that where you learned piano?" I asked.

"Yes. Though I learned a tremendous amount more afterward. But I was an accomplished pianist. I was one of the few students among my peers who could afford lessons. I was planning on attending Julliard as soon as I was out of high school. But nine months before that, the influenza pandemic hit Chicago. All three of us fell ill. My father was the first to go."

"What about your mother? You said you two were really close. What was she like?"

"I loved her very much. She was the center of my life. She had a very similar personality to Earnest. Always compassionate, and so loving. She always saw the good in people. She died the day Carine changed me."

"So… could you like, read minds before? Like how I could already shield myself? How did that work?"

"No… not exactly. I was always very good at reading people, though. I could just look at someone, and before ever having spoken to them I could grasp what kind of person they were. If they were friendly, or rude. Genuine or fake. But my mother, however… I always wondered if there was something _more_ about her."

"What do you mean?"

"She always seemed to have this… intuition about people. She could read people even better than I could. But the biggest mystery was her encounter with Carine."

Carine nodded in wonder. "Elizabeth seemed to know what I was from the very beginning. I'd never met a human who seemed so sure. She was the reason I ultimately decided to change Edythe. She seemed to _know_ , with great certainty, that I had a means to save her daughter. I'll never forget the last thing she said to me. She told me, 'You must do everything in _your_ power to save her. What others cannot do, that is what you must do for my sweet girl.' The way she looked at me, it was like she was one-hundred percent sure what I was able to do for Edythe. It still gives me chills just thinking about. And of course, I promised her I would do what was necessary if that was what truly she wanted. She died just moments after our conversation."

I had so many people to thank for leading Edythe to me.

"Carine, I've never thanked you," Edythe said. "…for this extraordinary life. It's a debt I will never be able to repay."

"Edythe, you've repaid it many times over. You've brought so much joy to my life. You helped convince me I could start this family."

"I formed a deep bond with Carine, much like I'd had with my mother," Edythe went on. "She was the first one who realized I could read minds. I kept answering her unspoken questions, not realizing she hadn't actually said them out loud."

"Didn't you say you ran away from her, though? For a while in the beginning?" I asked.

"Yes. Around ten years later. It was after Earnest came along, and I knew Carine wouldn't be lonely. Don't get me wrong, I loved Earnest from the beginning. He was like the father I wished I had. I always respected Carine's ideals and Earnest's gentleness, but I still resented her for trying to ignore the fact of what we really were. So I began to question what it meant to be a vampire. That's when I decided I should try turning my curse into a blessing, with the assistance of my extra sense, and act as a vigilante. I only targeted murderers, rapists, pedophiles, abusers, and the like."

"But you stopped doing that, obviously. What made you change your mind?"

She stared up at the ceiling then and sighed. "Like Jess said, I knew their every thought and fear. And deep down, I knew that I wasn't truly doing it for the victims. I was doing it for myself. It was the easier way to live. All the men I killed… I could hear what they were thinking. And they truly saw me as a monster, an even bigger monster than they all were. I came running back to Carine after just three years."

"And that's when Royal came along?"

"Yes. Carine was concerned that I would run away again, and she felt that I needed a… romantic interest. She'd known of Royal, and when she discovered he was about to die… She decided he was too beautiful to waste. So she brought him here. She didn't ask me, though. I mean, I do love Royal as a brother. But I knew more than anyone this wasn't what he wanted. I tried to convince Carine to kill him. But she insisted he would change his mind once it was finished. I think that's part of the reason I couldn't be interested in him in that way. I was so self-absorbed in my loathing of what we were, that I hated the fact Carine had done it to him, too. I felt sorry for him…"

Royal jumped in on the conversation. "And of course, she was never interested in _anyone_. Not me, not Taran, no one. All until mister unpredictable came along." I thought he'd meant it to be rude, but he laughed and winked at me.

I laughed, too. "Hey, I still don't quite understand it either."

"Well you _were_ impossible to overlook," Edythe said, grabbing my ear. "For one, that god-forsaken scent radiating off you rammed me like a wrecking ball that first day. Second, you were the only silent-minded human I'd ever met. It was impossible not to be fascinated by you. It kept me paying attention to you long enough to realize that you were not only so obviously appealing and intriguing in the one sense, but also beautiful, like I've said before."

"Yeah, I just feel so manly when you describe me that way."

"Oh please, Beau," she scoffed. "Women aren't entitled to exclusivity with the word. Men can be just as beautiful as women. Just look at Royal."

I heard the words she was saying, but I still couldn't believe them. I didn't compare at all to Royal. Especially back then. We weren't even on the same plane of existence.

Royal laughed, flipping his long hair back dramatically. He looked like a model on a shampoo commercial.

"To each her own, I suppose…" I said. "That is one thing I will never be able to comprehend. All I know is that I'm definitely glad you see me that way."

Despite the fact that it nearly killed me.

"Remember, it was all about the arms," Royal said as he flexed his gigantic arms.

I remembered then what Edythe had said to me once. I rolled my eyes. "Oh right. And the shoulders? And hands?"

Edythe lit up in her most smug smile. "Precisely. And, oh, don't forget your _hair_."

Even then I was fairly positive Royal was the obvious winner in the arms category. After all, he looked like he could have played Thor in the next Marvel movie. I could picture him going off after some arch-nemesis, wielding the hammer and looking intimidating as hell.

Then the thought hit me.

"Jessamine?" I asked. Her attention returned to me from the TV. "Do you think that's what could be happening in Seattle? An army sort of thing, I mean?"

I felt like I was onto something that hadn't been considered, but she responded quickly. "Nah, I don't see a motive in Seattle. Why would someone create an army there? No one claims the area. It wouldn't make sense from a conquest point. We're the only coven with a permanent residence for hundreds of miles, but we aren't exactly considered competition among the others. We aren't interested in the same things."

The answer was so simple to me. "But what about Victor? I think it's safe to say _he_ has a motive."

"No, I've been watching Victor's every move," Archie said. "I don't see him involved with any of these newborns."

Something was bothering me. I couldn't quite figure out what it was. Mostly, I was just horrified, and sorry for all the people that had be affected by this. But beneath those strongest feelings, I felt like I was missing something obvious. Something that would make sense of all of it… the newborns… the scent of the stranger at Charlie's house…

I couldn't piece it together just yet, though I felt like I was on the verge of some breakthrough.


	17. FUTURE

14\. FUTURE

Mythology meant a lot more to me now that I had become a part of it. Looking back over these first several months as an immortal, I imagined how crazy it all might look from the old me's perspective—who I was before I'd moved to Forks. I never would have believed any of it could have ever existed. I went from the most skeptical side of the non-believer spectrum to becoming the myth myself. Even now, I felt like it might not be real somehow. Like I was just dreaming with my eyes open. And new things were coming into existence every single day.

Like the impossible, half-immortal child I watched grow with an absolute sense of adoration. It was funny how all of the fairy-tale things out there now wove themselves together into the threads of my life.

The one I was most surprised to be able to have in my life were the werewolves. Six-foot-tall wolves that came in an array of deep, woodsy colors were obviously not something I'd expected either, but given our inherent status as natural enemies, weaving them into the fabric was just as much of an impossibility.

But it happened somehow. The tensions between our families were more at ease now than ever, mostly due to Luca. He was just easy to love.

Actually, Carine and Earnest had attended a tribal meeting led by Bonnie Black and the other elders to discuss the 'cold spawn,' as they'd called it. Much to their surprise, he wasn't actually cold. Carine had demanded amnesty from all trepidation presented by the werewolves. They had agreed that Luca was not an immediate threat to human life because he never left our house, and he was constantly kept satiated with donated blood.

But in reality, the you could see the tension in each member vanish immediately as they all met him. As soon as they observed him for all of ten seconds, all the fear was gone. It was like Luca had this magical gift where he could make anyone like him, no matter what the preconceived notions were. And in the end, there was no denying he was pretty much like a human baby, except exquisitely beautiful… and so intelligent it was kind of terrifying.

The agreement they'd settled upon involved day-to-day checkups on him as if he would somehow morph into a demon at any moment. And I assumed that so long as nothing too strange happened with his progress, they'd let this whole issue slide.

On a side note, they'd demanded our traditional company leave as soon as possible. Carine had tried to make the elders understand that there was a bit of a custody dispute going on, per se, and Ati's family wouldn't be leaving without him anytime soon.

Despite that, having the pack around every day kept me in touch with my old life, since theirs intercepted so much with the human world. Charlie had apparently formed a bond that was a bit more than friendship with Holly Clearwater, Sarah and Lee's mother. Saul Clearwater had died some time ago of a heart attack, and Julie said that Charlie and Holly bonded through their shared grief. He went with her pretty much everywhere these days.

This fact was something I was especially grateful for, that he was able to move on, or at least have some form of distraction.

And it was weird to think of Charlie as a _grandpa_ … especially since he was unaware of that fact. But I suppose he technically was. Adoption counted, didn't it?

Even more weird, was the fact that I was a like a dad to this kid. The word just sounded so wrong when trying to apply it to me. Co-parent? Was that better? A child could have more than one dad, though, and I was one of them.

Don't get me wrong—I was euphoric most of the time. The days weren't long enough for me to get my fill of it all: days spent adoring this fascinating child, and nights that never lasted long enough alone with Edythe.

On the flipside of all that joy, there was a bit of a grey area. Not sorrow or remorse, but more of a bleak doubt and fear.

The faster this miracle progressed, the more worried we became. How long did we have with him?

And the ultimate question… Was he going to just live a super-accelerated life, only to grow old and wither away in just a few short years? How much did the immortal part of his DNA bind to the mechanics of human biology? There was often talk between Edythe and Carine about infinitely pliable telomerase—one of their ongoing theories. I knew it was important to discuss, but I didn't want to dig too deeply into it myself, only to discover something I didn't want to know.

But the progress was terrifying, to say the least.

Luca spoke for the first time when he was just eight days old. The word was my name, which would have made my whole day, except I was so horrified that a week-old baby had just spoken to me, I could barely force myself to smile back at him. And naturally, it didn't help that his first complete sentence came just seconds later.

"Beau…?" he asked in a perfectly clear, high voice.

He'd only bothered to speak to me out loud because I was across the room. I'd already noticed he'd asked Royal using his usual, or rather _unusual,_ form of communication. Royal hadn't answered the question, so Luca had turned to me.

The moment I realized that it was indeed Luca who had spoken, he continued with a question. "Where is my mother?"

There was a hint of doubt in his tone. I'd never thought of this before. What would he remember of Huilén? I knew he had shown everyone images of her when she'd held him in her arms just the one time. But how would he have made the connection? How would he even know there was a difference between a biological mother and the mothers that were raising him?

I stood there with a dumbfounded expression, not knowing what to say to him. Which was worse than telling him a lie, because I watched his face turn down as he realized what our silence meant.

"She's… dead, isn't she?" he asked. The sound of his voice was so bleak it made my silent heart ache.

I looked at Royal, bulging my eyes out pleadingly for him to come up with some sort of answer. But he didn't speak a word. He sat there looking just as sad as I felt.

"Luca…" I said slowly. "Um, your mother will always be with you in a way. She just can't be _here_ right now. You'll understand one day."

My diversion of the whole truth didn't thwart him.

"I killed her." His voice was dead cold with shame and regret.

My mouth dropped open, and I looked frantically at Royal again. All I got was a subtle shake of the head.

It was honestly the saddest thing I think I'd ever witnessed. I let out a sigh as I thought of how to explain that one to him.

"I'm a monster," he said softly. Then he looked down at the floor, and a tear rolled down one of his cheeks.

"No!" both of us assured him in unison.

Royal picked him up from the floor immediately into a comforting embrace.

I ran over to him and took him from Royal's arms.

"You're not a monster, Luca. Don't ever think that," I whispered to him. "Your mother loves you a lot. It's just that she loved you _so_ much that she couldn't stay here with you."

He stuck his hand to my face, looking up at me with glistening eyes.

The question of why was in his thoughts.

"So that _you_ could live. For reasons I can't explain, the two of you couldn't both stay here. This is what she wanted, for you to be here, even if that meant she had to leave us."

It was so bizarre to be explaining life and death to a baby, but he seemed to understand perfectly well what I was telling him.

Images of Huilén's bloodied, twisted body flashed into my head.

"But it's my fault," he said, his voice breaking.

"Nooo…" I consoled him. "You didn't have a choice. There's nothing you could have done differently. No one knows why things are the way they are, buddy. But none of this is your fault. You are your mother's choice. She wouldn't have had it any other way."

It was then I had noticed Edythe standing on the other side of the room, her mouth pressed tight into a line. She looked even sadder than I felt.

Difficult first conversations aside, there were other steps he took too quickly in his life. He walked for the first time just a few weeks later. He had simply stared at Archie for a long moment, watching every move he made as he paced around the house. Then, with no warning at all, Luca got to his feet, and it wasn't like the typical, wobbly-legged baby walk at all. He crossed the floor over to Archie just as effortlessly as when he had spoken for the first time.

Everyone burst into applause because that was clearly the response he wanted. My eyes met Edythe for a moment, and I saw all the same panic that plagued me echoed in hers.

Edythe and Carine continued the research day and night, trying to scrounge up any answers, anything to expect from him. There was next to nothing to be found, and of course, none of it verifiable.

In the meantime, Archie and Royal had Luca becoming the best-dressed kid in America. Every morning was practically a fashion show. He never wore the same thing twice, partly because he grew up a size in a matter of a day, and also because we were trying to throw together a collection of photos that appeared to show a span of years of him growing up, rather than weeks. There were thousands of pictures, documenting every phase of his rapid development.

At two months, Luca could have passed for two _years_ , or maybe even a small three-year-old. It was hard to gauge, though. He wasn't exactly shaped like a baby, but not a toddler either. He was longer and leaner, and graceful, more like an older child. His dark brown hair hung down straight to his shoulders now. No one could bear to cut it.

From the first time he spoke, his grammar and articulation were flawless. There was no toddler-speak phase, per se. He rarely bothered with words, though, because it was much simpler to show what wanted to say. Pictures really were worth more than a thousand words. He spoke mostly to me because he seemed to have a harder time getting into my brain than anyone else, which really didn't come as a surprise. But it _did_ work to some degree, which perplexed Edythe.

That wasn't all, though… not in the slightest. It wasn't long before Luca could walk and run, and even dance. He could jump higher than an Olympic athlete. He could lift things many times heavier than his own weight. He could draw and paint extraordinarily detailed and accurate depictions of the world around him.

He could even read. It took less than a couple days of going over the alphabet and phonetics for him to understand how the whole system worked. It was like a puzzle for him, and he would stay up late at night putting sentences together off the page while we begged him to get some sleep.

All of us were used to taking turns reading him to sleep at night. And one night I was reading Tennyson to him because the flow and rhythm of his poetry seemed restful to me. That's when he reached out and said, "Let me do it."

I gave it to him, smiling.

"There is sweet music here…" he read without hesitation.

I sighed out a laugh because naturally, he'd perfected this skill as well in a matter of days.

"…that softer falls than petals from blown roses on the grass, or night-dews on still waters between walls of shadowy granite, in a gleaming pass…"

I took the book back from him. He scowled at me, and I laughed. "Okay, if _you_ read it, how are you supposed to fall asleep?"

He hadn't put up much of a fight with that one, though. He slept regularly, and all the way through the night, which I knew wasn't typical at all. People would beg for a baby like this.

It was hard to keep him occupied with things to do during the day. He was very inquisitive, and he would put all of his efforts into learning everything there was to know about a particular thing before getting burnt out and abandoning it just as quickly.

Edythe started showing him piano from the time he could reach his hands to the keys of the big Steinway. He was always fascinated by her, just as I was, when her hands danced across the ivory.

And he didn't just pick up the technique and play well, which he did. He even _composed_ his own pieces when he discovered that Edythe could make up songs of her own. One day he asked us why people wanted to play stuff other people wrote, and then told us how he was going to make his own music.

We'd laughed at first, because it was so adorable, watching his little forehead furrow as he'd find the right pitches and intervals, fitting them into cadences.

But then when the song that came out of the piano sounded like a tenured composer had written it, we all stared at him in disbelief.

At first hearing it, I'd thought he was playing some classical piece Edythe had shown him.

"Wait, what song is that one?" I whispered to her.

She shrugged. "He made this one up."

I stared at her with a blank expression as she continued accessing his thoughts, an amused smirk on her face. "He refers to it as 'In-Between'."

"In-Between?" I asked. "In between what?"

Luca looked up at me then, as if the answer were blatantly obvious, and the sound continued seamlessly from his hands.

The piece had begun slowly with these soft, simple arpeggios, but now it was picking up the pace, and he threw in low, rattling notes from the piano's lower end at precisely the right moments. It was beautiful, yet unsettling. It sounded so ominous as it picked up in tempo. It could have been the underscore of his accelerated, mysterious life.

"I took inspiration from Beethoven, Debussy, and Liszt, and threw several themes together," Luca explained, not interrupting the song. "I call it 'In-Between' because of the repeated note in the low register. It goes from being on the downbeat to the upbeat when the melody jumps _in between_ the notes, and becomes the dominant part, defining the repeated note as the pedal point. So the name refers to how the melody is in between those repeated notes."

I blinked spastically at his little hands. I didn't even think I understood whatever he just said.

Edythe laughed at my expression. "Makes sense to me…"

"I'm glad it does to someone," I said, squinting my eyes at her.

Everyone laughed, including Luca. He had the most infectious, high-pitched laughter that no one could help but adore.

"It's okay, Beau," Edythe smirked at me. "You'll be as good as Luca one day… well, maybe."

By Carine's calculations, the growth of his body was gradually slowing, but his mind surely raced ahead of his physical development. Even if the rate of decrease held up, he'd still be an adult in less than a decade.

A decade. And an old man by his twenties.

Just twenty years of life.

But he was so _healthy_. Vital, bright, charming, and so full of life. The constant fear and doubt surrounding his wellbeing made it easier for us to cherish him in the moment and put off worrying about the future for tomorrow.

We discussed the options for that future from every angle. Even the unthinkable, which was to halt the growth at the appropriate age.

My instincts seemed to shout at me that it was too dangerous; vampire venom had brought his mother a swift death when it otherwise should have healed. Who knew what it would do to him…

We'd exhausted all the research we could do from a distance, and now we were planning to follow old legends at their source. We contemplated going to Brazil, or even back to Bora Bora. The Ticunas had legends in South America, which included stories about children like Luca… If other children like him had existed somewhere, perhaps some tale of their fate had been passed down through the folklore.

The only real question left was when we'd go.

We eventually settled on tickets for Brazil when Luca was eight weeks old. He was determined to come with us, but we were a little apprehensive about having him out there in the real world. Who knew how he'd respond to them? Even I had trouble with it. He seemed remarkably even-tempered, and so well behaved. But there was no point in risking it. He would be a liability to the most absolute law—keeping the secret.

Luca was understanding on the whole good vs. bad as it applied to people, but he'd never actually been around them. No matter how much we explained it to him, there would be no guessing what would happen in practice.

He did in fact feed on human blood still, from the donated blood. It filled him and seemed compatible with his system, but he reacted to all varieties of human food with the same rejection most kids would give to cauliflower or Brussels sprouts. We'd started to wean him off the human blood and taken him hunting with us a few times, but until that process was solidified, none of us liked the idea of risking it.

He didn't hold back on the argument though. "I love humans! Just like Julie and Sarah."

"They're not exactly the same as most people, though," Edythe explained to him.

Werewolves had an off-putting scent that detracted from the human aroma that was still there.

Luca frowned as Edythe crouched down to his level. He pushed her hair away from her face to put his hand to her cheek.

"No, I don't care if you bite Royal," Edythe said with a laugh. "You just have to be very careful with people who aren't like us. It's dangerous for everyone else."

As for the animal blood, he had a competitive nature, and so we made it a challenge to try to get him excited to hunt. He and Eleanor would see who could find the biggest deer or elk.

It was entertaining, to say the least, seeing him jump through the grass to take down animals ten times his size.

As I watched from afar, he crouched and sprang fifteen feet into the air. His hands closed around a snowflake, most of which weren't reaching the ground. Then he dropped lightly to his feet.

He turned back to smile at me. And that wasn't something you could just get used to. He was the definitely cutest kid in the whole world, despite my obvious biases. His hands opened to show me the perfectly formed, eight-pointed ice star in his palm before it melted from the heat of his skin.

"Nice one!" I called out.

"I think you're trying to distract me!" Eleanor taunted as she darted back out into the trees.

We all listened to the sound of the small heard of elk moving farther into the woods.

"But I'm not thirsty!" he shouted after her.

"Suuuuure, you're not thirsty, Luke," Eleanor's voice called from the trees. "You're just afraid I'll get the biggest one again!"

His lips pursed together, and his forehead wrinkled. He darted off toward her.

Eleanor was just as much a child as he was sometimes.

The snow flurries fluttered high above us, disappearing before our eyes. Archie had seen that it wouldn't stick for several more weeks.

Edythe wasn't with us this time, because she was planning the trip to Rio with Carine. I frowned. Maybe Luca _should_ come with us. If one of the elders saw him, perhaps they would know something like the woman on the island had.

The other area of concern was the ongoing havoc in Seattle, which seemed to only get worse as time went on.

Back at home, Edythe and Carine were discussing it again. "Maybe we should do something about these newborns…" Carine said. "Either we do something, or the Volturi will get involved. And if Sulpicia gets this far west, she will certainly want to pay me a visit. We can't have them here with Luca and Benji. It's too risky. Perhaps there's a way to lure these young ones out of the city."

"Maybe we won't actually need to," Edythe said. "Has it not occurred to anyone else that the purpose for all these newborns could quite possibly be… us?"

Jessamine narrowed her eyes.

Edythe shrugged. "I think it's safe to consider that _we_ might be the targets."

"They're not coming after us," Archie shook his head. "Or at least… they don't _know_ that they are."

I watched Edythe look expectantly at Archie then like he had been holding back on something.

"They're just flickers, Edythe," he said. "All these strange flashes… nothing to make sense of. It's like someone is constantly changing up the plan, and the courses change so rapidly I can't get a hold on one of them for long."

"Indecision?" Jessamine offered.

"More like knowledge." Edythe rolled her eyes. "Archie, it's obvious that someone knows about you, and they're trying to slip through your loopholes."

"But who would know that?"

"I think you already know the answer. Who did you see out there on the mountainside months ago? Who is the only person out there who probably wants me dead?" Edythe sighed.

"I say we stop piddling around and just _go_ already," Eleanor said as she jumped off the couch. "We can take them."

Everyone paused for a long second, and then Edythe actually nodded.

"We don't know how many of them there are," Carine said. "If they have numbers on their side, we'll need assistance."

And suddenly, Archie's face went blank… devoid of any expression. I knew that look well. What he saw now wasn't the room around him; it was some situation that hadn't happened yet. Then one of his hands gripped the handrail of the staircase like he needed support.

I was the first one to speak. "What, Archie, what? What do you see?" I started walking towards him automatically.

But he didn't look at me. He was looking at Edythe. And her face was just as empty. Then they both turned and disappeared upstairs.

Something they didn't want the rest of us to know… but what might that be?

"Archie!" Carine called up the stairs after them.

Eleanor and I followed after them. We were suddenly standing in the doorway of the room that had been set up as a hospital. We all stared intently at Edythe and Archie. He was sitting on the floor with his head between his hands as we towered over him.

"Explain," I demanded.

Edythe and Archie looked at each other, then back to our faces, confused and wary.

"Beau, I don't know everything," he said in a strained voice.

"Well, what _do_ you know?" Eleanor interrogated.

And then Archie disappeared into the hallway in the blink of an eye. "Leave me alone! I need to _think…_ Keep Luca away!"

Archie still had trouble seeing anything when Luca was near him. It was like he was some sort of radar block.

"It's okay, Beau," Edythe reassured us. "He needs to gather all the information while it's still coming to him. Let him concentrate."

My voice was still impatient. "Victor? The person in my old room? Seattle?"

"Sort of… I can't make any better sense of it than he can. He has a point about the decisions changing right and left."

We went back down to the living room, where the Egyptians waited silently, reading every unconscious play of emotions on our faces. They held completely still. It was something our kind did instinctively in anxious situations.

Archie appeared quite literally out of nowhere then, which was saying something. It was hard to sneak up on vampires. His expression was terrifying.

"The decision has been made."

"We're going to Seattle?" Jessamine asked.

"No." Archie shook his head.

Then I got it. It was so obvious that it was about us. And these newborns weren't going to wait for us to come to _them_.

"They're coming for us," I said.

"Yes," Edythe answered.

"To our house?" I asked nervously.

"No," Carine answered. "We need to lead them to an area far from town. We don't want a bunch of deranged newborns around any people."

"She's right," Jess added. "There aren't enough of us to protect the town from all of them. We'll need to lure them far away from civilization."

"I know," Archie said, and his face was desolate. "But will there even be enough of us to take them all out?"

And here we all were, facing horror… danger… maybe death. Because of me, essentially.

"Archie…" I said. "We have to get help fast. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anyone got hurt."

"Hold it," Edythe ordered. "No one's getting hurt. I know of a certain party who will be willing to offer _plenty_ of help…"

Carine answered. "Edythe, it sounds like there are dozens of them. That means an ugly fight even if…"

"We _do_ have a few advantages, Carine," Jess bridled. "No matter how many of them there are, it still won't be a fair fight for them."

"The wolves…" Eleanor answered.

"Dammit, El…" Archie sighed. "Now everything's just disappeared that you've gotten them involved… You might as well throw Luca into the mix just as well for good measure!"  
No one laughed at the joke.

Archie growled. "Ugh… This is inconvenient, but yes, all things considered, we could use their help."

Coordinating with the werewolves wasn't going to be easy. Julie and Sarah were one thing… but I could tell the others hated even being near us.

"You'll all need some instruction," Jessamine said as she jumped up on her feet. "They will, too."

"This has to be a first…" Edythe said in a snide comment.

"Where do you guys suggest this all go down?" I asked.

"About ten miles due north of the Hoh Forest ranger station. We'll come in from the east, and they should be able to follow our scent in," Jessamine answered.

"Let's go tell the pack." Eleanor was already heading for the door. Royal disappeared along with her.

Great… It was bad enough that we'd all be fighting again because of me. It was too much to even allow that, but now all those kids from La Push… My nerves felt frayed and worn out already.

I whispered in a low voice. "What about Luca?"

"That's a good point…" Carine said.

Edythe looked at him quickly, then to me. "Beau, you'll watch him somewhere far away while we do this."

"What? Me? But you'll need my help!"

"No offense, Beau, but you aren't exactly the most experienced with this sort of thing," Jess said to me. "We'll be just fine. We can handle it with eleven of us easily."

I shook my head. "I'm not going to sit there with him unprotected. What if some of this army breaks off and finds us? Edythe, you'll need to stay with me."

"Beau, I really don't think…" she started.

"No! You're staying with me! Either it's so dangerous that we need every single one of us, or it's so easy you can be taken out of the equation. I won't stand there helplessly while someone comes looking for me."

"He has a good point," Jessamine said.

Edythe sighed. "Fine."

They explained that this place where we would confront the newborns was the baseball clearing. I'd never known what it was called. It would be the same place where, almost a year ago, my first evening with my new family had been interrupted by Joss and Victor and Lauren.

I almost laughed, because the picture wouldn't be complete without the three of them again, but Joss and Lauren were never coming back to pose any threat. The pattern wouldn't be repeated. But Victor on the other hand…

He'd seemed like a force of nature to me, like a storm coming that made everyone need to take cover. He was unavoidable, unpredictable, implacable… like Lauren had once told us.

"You know what I think?"

Edythe looked at me as if to say, _Not funny_.

"Obviously not, Beau."

I almost smiled at my unintentional joke.

"Three bad things have happened recently," I said as I started ticking items off my fingers. "The newborns… the stranger in my room… and Victor came to look for me."

Her eyes narrowed. "Looking for you?"

"I was the proof he was looking for. That you'd won the game. Plus, he probably hadn't expected me to not be human. That's why he seemed so angry that day. I'm no longer a fragile, easy target."

Edythe frowned. "True. But it wasn't Victor in your room."

"He can't make new friends? Think about it… Victor has made a _lot_ of new friends, and they're tearing it up in Seattle as we speak."

"Hmm," she said as she paced. "It's possible. There's something there in your theory… Victor's personality aligns with that sort of scenario perfectly. He seems to have an essence for being capable of great self-preservation. Perhaps it's his talent. This plot would keep him safe behind it all and let the newborns do all the dirty work."

"What about the Volturi?" Carine asked. "Why haven't they put a stop to this? Surely Sulpicia has noticed by now with it making national news."

"She must be counting us for the win," Jessamine answered. "But obviously not without the specific casualties she's aiming for. If his little army is destroyed, though… no one can bear witness against him. In fact, I'm betting he plans to destroy any survivors himself. But the person in your room couldn't have been a newborn. No one new would leave your father alive… I think he's coordinating with someone more mature, someone we don't know. That person is making all of the decisions. He's hiding behind them."

I felt a chill down my spine. It felt like some spy of his was watching us even now.

"God, what I wouldn't give to have him in my grasp." Edythe gritted her teeth and clenched her hands. "Victor… anyone who's ever thought of hurting Beau… To have a chance to end it myself, with my _own_ hands this time."

There was a ferocious longing in her voice. Jessamine looked relatively at ease. She'd dealt with this sort of thing plenty of times. But Archie didn't look so comfortable. He sat on the steps, rubbing his arms nervously.

"Is something wrong, Archie?"

Edythe laughed. "The wolves must be coming back with El and Roy… So he's blind at the moment."

Archie scowled. "It makes me so uncomfortable. You have no idea…"

Poor Archie, having to live like the rest of us, in the present.

And that's when Eleanor and Royal popped back in the door.

"Hey, guys," she greeted us. "Heads up. The wolves are coming."

Ati and her coven sank silently out the back, as per usual when the pack came around. It was best to make them as comfortable as possible.

"It wasn't easy to convince them," El said. "But mention that their people could be in danger, and their ears perk up _really_ fast."

Royal laughed. "We had to bluff and say we might not be able to hold the newborns off from coming into town and having a feast. That got them going."

"When will our guests arrive?" Carine asked.

Edythe concentrated for a moment, then she spoke. "About another two minutes. I'll have to translate. They're too on edge at the moment for any of them to remain in their human forms."

Carine nodded. "This is a big step for them. I'm thankful they'll be helping us at all."

"The pack seems to have grown…" Edythe murmured. "I can hear _ten_ of them."


	18. INSTRUCTION

15\. INSTRUCTION

All twelve of us stood in a loose line out in the familiar baseball clearing with Jess and Eleanor at the spear of the point. Jessamine insisted we do a sort of training for this battle.

"Damn," I heard El mutter under her breath as the wolves approached. "Did you ever see anything like it?"

I counted all the pairs of eyes that emerged from the trees. There were ten of them all right…

"Fascinating," Edythe whispered almost silently. "It's like they were preparing themselves for this very thing."

Carine took a very cautioned, deliberate step forward. It looked reassuring.

"Welcome," she greeted the pack.

"Thank you," Edythe spoke for them in a flat tone that separated from her normal voice. She spoke again in that detached way for Samantha. "We will watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control."

"That is perfectly acceptable," Carine answered. "My daughter, Jessamine," she said, gesturing toward her. "She has experience with newborns. She will instruct us on how they fight, what is to be expected, and how they will be defeated most easily. I'm sure you can apply this to your own offensive style."

"What makes them different from you?" Edythe asked for Sam.

Carine nodded. "Our kind are never more physically powerful than in the first few months of this life. Their own human blood still lingers in their tissues, constantly fueling them. But they are all children in a way. They will have no skill or strategy. Strength is the only thing we have to worry about."

"How many?"

"There are around twenty of them, from our estimates. Ten for us, ten for you. It shouldn't be very difficult. They fight amongst themselves often, so the numbers might even go down."

"We can take on more of the share, if necessary," Edythe translated.

"We will see how things go." Carine smiled. "We plan to lead them here to this very spot. They are coming in four days, in the late morning. My son will help us intercept their path. It shouldn't happen too far from this location."

"Thank you for the information. We will observe, as you wish."

Jessamine stepped out to take Carine's place. "Carine is right," she began. "Their fighting will be sloppy at best. There are two key rules that you should know, and those are, first, never let them get their arms around you. They tend to prefer to crush, rather than tear. Second, never go for the obvious kill. That's the only thing they'll be prepared for. As long as you keep changing it up, they'll be too confused to respond effectively… El?"

Eleanor was smiling menacingly when she walked forward. This was prime entertainment for her, I was sure.

Jess backed up to the other end of the clearing and waved Eleanor forward.

"Eleanor will be the best example of how a newborn will attack."

"I'll try not to break anything," Eleanor teased.

Jess laughed. "What I mean is that Eleanor relies on strength. She has a very straightforward style. Just go for the easy kill, El."

Jess backed up a few more steps and shifted into her distinct defensive crouch. "Alright… Try to catch me."

Eleanor flashed forward, charging her like a bear, snarling all the way. Jessamine ghosted out of the way as soon as Eleanor's hands reached for her. El's fists clenched at nothing but air. I watched intently, trying to see every little move in the brawl.

Eleanor froze suddenly.

Jess had her from behind with her teeth an inch from her throat.

"Ah, shit…" Eleanor muttered.

There were a few rumbles of appreciation from the wolves.

"Again!" Eleanor demanded.

"Nope," Edythe called. "It's my turn."

I wasn't worried about Edythe. I knew she wouldn't be involved. But Archie, though. He was so… small.

"Actually, I want to show Beau something first," Jessamine said. "I know that you worry about Archie, Beau. I'm going to show you why you shouldn't."

Though I knew Jess obviously would never let anything happen to Archie, and vice versa, it was still hard to watch as she crouched down to face him in an attack. Archie stood still as a statue, looking like a child compared to Eleanor.

Archie closed his eyes just for show.

Jess sprang, but she was suddenly on the other side of Archie. She wheeled around and launched herself at him again, only to land in a crouch behind him like the first time. Archie was still standing there, eyes closed, and that's when I realized what was going on.

Archie was sidestepping just a millisecond before Jess could make contact, and then returning back to his original position as soon as Jess was out of the way. To the wolves, it probably looked like Archie was a hologram, and Jessamine was passing through his body.

Jess turned it up a notch then, and they were dancing around each other. Archie spiraled and twisted around and over himself like an acrobat, and everything was so choreographed. Each time Jessamine's hands came near him, he would dodge by a margin of just a fraction of an inch. He laughed after a dozen or so attempts to grab him.

Then out of nowhere, he was up on Jessamine's back with his arm around her neck. "Gotcha," he said as he kissed her on top of the head.

The wolves growled amongst themselves like they were in shock. I could only imagine how to them, Archie looked like some frightening, tiny monster with magic powers. It probably made them wary just imagining having to deal with him in a traditional situation.

Archie came and took Edythe's place beside me. "Cool, huh?" he asked me in a smug voice.

"Very…" I breathed, not looking away from Edythe as she glided straight for Jessamine. Her movements were the lithest of all of them. It was even harder to watch her as a target for the attack.

Edythe didn't hesitate when closing in on Jessamine. The fight was most even this time. Jess had the centuries of experience to guide her, but her thoughts would give her away just before she acted. Edythe was faster than she was on top of that.

They came at each other again and again, and neither was able to get ahold of the other. It went on and on, and the wolves started to sigh.

Carine cleared her throat eventually.

Jess took a step away and laughed. Edythe grinned at us.

"We'll call it a draw," Jess said.

Everyone else took their turns at fake-battling. Carine, then Royal, then Earnest. I think the hardest to watch was Earnest. He was just so gentle looking. But he slowed things down the most, making it easier for the wolves to keep up with.

"You see that?" he asked. "Yes, just like that. Concentrate on the sides. Don't forget where the target will be. Stay in constant motion," he said as he darted around Jessamine.

When we were finished with what seemed like play more than training, Edythe spoke again for the pack.

"The pack thinks it will be more than helpful if they were absolutely familiar with each of our scents. They don't need to be getting mixed up in the heat of the moment. If we could hold very still, it will make it more comfortable for them."

"Certainly," Carine nodded at Sam. "Whatever you need from us."

The pack grumbled as they all moved forward. Sam stayed in the lead, tall and black as night. She looked like a monster from a child's nightmares. Luca shied in behind my legs when she got close.

She sniffed at Carine first, and her nose wrinkled up as she did it. I wondered if she did it reflexively, or just for show, to prove her distaste for us. Then she moved on to Jess.

My eyes went up and down the line of wolves, who were intimidating, to say the least, being so close. I could see which of them were the new additions, a light gray wolf that was smaller, and then a sandy colored one. There were a couple of reddish ones that were very similar to Julie, but her fur was longer than the others.

Julie rumbled when she stood in front of Luca and me. Her big eyes closed as she leaned down toward him, and he reached out to pet her on top of the head.

"So soft…" he said as he ran his fingers through the thick fur. Then Julie suddenly licked him up the side of his face. Luca laughed giddily.

"Ugh, gross," I heard Royal groan in complaint.

Luca wiped his face with his sleeve. Everyone stared at the two of them, and I realized what a spectacle this would have been to any sane person—a monstrous wolf and a toddler acting like they were friends and not predator and prey.

Julie made a sound that almost resembled laughter.

"Ready to get him home?" Edythe asked.

Julie made a disgruntled sound, and she darted off into the trees.

"Where is she going?" I asked.

"She wants to use her human form to talk for a minute," Edythe replied.

Julie showed up a minute later as herself. "The pack just wants to know what you plan to do with him during the fight," she explained.

"We haven't quite figured that one out yet," Edythe answered. "Beau and I will stay with him. But his scent is too strong and distinct to have him near here. We need a surefire way to make sure they won't find us, wherever we hide."

Julie thought for a moment, then looked up curiously.

"Not a bad idea…" Edythe murmured.

I looked at Julie for answers.

"My scent disgusts you guys, right? We can see if I can confuse the scent enough to hide you guys' trail," she explained. "Then you can be near enough for her to uh, _hear_ the battle."

"We're going to have to let her carry him," Edythe said. Her voice was calm, but I could hear a hint of distaste.

A couple of wolves barked out in dissent.

Oh, please… Like Luca was going to do something to her.

Julie and the wolves turned and moved swiftly into the woods.

"Seriously, Edythe?" Royal complained loudly.

Jessamine defended her. "Roy, I can't imagine anyone sticking their nose close enough to her trail and then wanting to pursue it. The newborns don't even know the wolves exist. They'll be repulsed by it for sure."

Edythe got in on the planning. "We'll take him with Julie and Sarah on Friday afternoon to cover up our trail to a place I know. It's completely out of the way, and easily defendable. Sarah is going to stay there with us because the pack feels she is too young for battle. She's resisting, but she has to do what Sam says. Besides, she'll act as sort of a cell phone."

"Cell phone?" I asked.

"As long as she's in her wolf form, she'll be connected to the pack," Edythe said. "If I can hear her, I'll be able to keep up with what the others are seeing here."

"To think it's come to this… trusting werewolves," Eleanor laughed.

"Fighting _with_ vampires instead of against them," Edythe mirrored.

Well, at least they'd get to kill _some_ vampires. That was their whole purpose for existing, after all.

When we were back at home, Ati babbled on in her distaste for the plan. "You know I cannot stand those filthy mutts!" she said, along with a few other choice words.

"I know, Ati," Carine said reassuringly. "But think of the added safety it provides for Luca. This is what's best."

I, however, was starting to lighten up to the whole plan. I wasn't nearly so afraid of what was coming now. I could function. I could believe that everything _would_ be okay, and no one would get hurt. Edythe seemed okay with the idea of missing the fight, which was what basically put me at ease. She would never leave her family behind if she didn't believe it was going to be a piece of cake. Archie was right. I did worry too much.

We would go to the clearing on Friday night to set up this 'stink' trail, then stay in a tent with Luca up high in the mountains overnight. The rest would wait in the clearing with the pack until morning, in case there were any surprise ambushes before the scheduled attack.

Eleanor and Jessamine were all about the training. They did it day and night, moving faster than cobra strikes in the pale moonlight that glinted off their skin.

It was difficult to explain what was happening to Luca. He asked us over and over why there was a fight. Sparing him the details, Edythe explained that most vampires were bad and wanted to hurt us because we were good. It sounded a lot like some of the stories he'd been read at night about fights among royal clans.

"I think…" Archie made a face as he said the word. "That you will need to dress him up for cold weather. I see the snow up in the mountains, but I can't see exactly since those dogs will be going with you."

"Snow?" Luca asked, perking up at the idea of it.

"Ha-ha, that's right. You'll need a jacket," I said to him.

Royal and Archie had a bag packed for him days in advance, with many sets of winter clothes, because who knew how much bigger he'd be by Friday.

Everything seemed to be set. All we needed to do now was wait.

The rest of the Cullens and the Quileutes would fight on Saturday morning against twenty wild, newborn vampires. Hopefully, they'd all be taken care of like a walk in the park, and Victor, or whoever was behind this, would make an appearance.

I have to say I'd love to have my hands around his neck just as much as Edythe did right now, especially if I was right about him.

I wondered if the newborns even knew who they were fighting for. Probably not, if that were the case.

The day would come, and we would know the answers.

And hopefully we'd eliminate the threat altogether.

-END OF PART ONE-


	19. COULD WE JUST GET ON WITH THIS ALREADY?

**BOOK TWO**

BRANDEN

 _Throughout the vast shadowy world of ghosts and demons there is no figure so terrible, no figure so dreaded and abhorred, yet dight with such fearful fascination, as the vampire, who is himself neither ghost nor demon, but yet who partakes the dark natures and possesses the mysterious and terrible qualities of both._

Rev. Montague Summers

16\. COULD WE JUST GET ON WITH THIS THING ALREADY?

The images in those memories, the last moments of my life, were blurry. It was like looking through dark, murky water. Just one thing in particular stood out with any significant detail: Riley.

I still remember how she had looked that night. When I say she was the hottest girl I had ever seen, the description doesn't come close to capturing it. That word didn't even do her justice. She was perfect in every single way—the way you might expect an angel to look, but even better.

She didn't remove her sunglasses, which I thought was odd given the total darkness. It only left me to imagine how much more stunning her eyes would be. Hell, even the sound of her voice was attractive, so gentle, so seductive, while at the same time leaving me frozen in fear. And still, I would have done anything for her, in exchange for food or otherwise.

It had been weeks since I'd run away. I was days away from turning sixteen… or at least I think I was. I sort of lost track of the days in the end there. My abusive asshole of a father told me I would starve to death as I'd escaped out the back door. It was the only thing he'd ever been right about.

I hadn't eaten much more than a bite of food since then. Starvation was going to take me any day. But that outcome looked better at that point than living another day with that man.

I wish I would have run years ago when my mother did. Dad was insane. He craved authority. I was certain he was one of those sadistic people who got some kind of sick pleasure out of verbally and physically abusing someone else. I spent my last three days with him locked in his basement.

I couldn't understand what this supermodel of a girl could possibly want with some homeless kid off the street in the middle of the night. Why would she bother to look my way? There was some instinct deep inside me that told me to get away from her, but I didn't listen. Everything about her drew me in.

"Want a burger, kid?" she'd asked me, standing there in the rain. I remember it was like being hypnotized.

And of course I wanted it. At that point I would have eaten something she'd dug out of the trash. I didn't even question why she was interested in helping me. I was too hungry to care. She took me inside the nearest diner and ordered me a massive cheeseburger. I destroyed it like a ravenous animal as she sat there across from me in the booth in silence.

"You must have been really hungry," she said to me when I swallowed the last bite.

"You're damn right. But why…?" I'd trailed off.

She just stared at me like she was evaluating… trying to decide something important. Then she spoke again.

"What's your name, kid?"

I almost stuttered the word. "Um… Branden."

"Well, Branden… I can offer you a new life. How does that sound?"

I couldn't have known at the time what she'd meant by that, but I would have taken anything from her without hesitation.

She took me to an abandoned apartment building. All the lights were out, and I was confused at how she seemed to get around so well in the darkness. When we were finally alone, she took off her sunglasses, and I could see that her irises were a fiery red. Totally creepy, yet all the more beautiful to look at. I couldn't move. I just stared at her, stunned… wondering what the hell this girl was. That's when she'd asked the final question.

She sighed. "I hope you survive… You look like a fighter."

"Huh?"

"Ready to be part of the army?"

Before I could begin to answer, I heard something move behind me. And a second later, there was this slash at my throat. It was like someone was shoving a white-hot branding iron into my neck. Then the pain was all I could comprehend.

During those last few weeks, I would have told you that the pain of starvation was the worst agony this world could ever throw at you. It turns out I couldn't have been more wrong.

~ THREE MONTHS LATER ~

The news headline showed in large, bold print in the window of a newspaper dispenser:

SEATTLE'S MASS MURDERER STILL ON THE LOOSE AS VICTIM COUNT RISES AGAIN.

This one hadn't been there until a few minutes ago. A paperboy must have just passed by and restocked it. It was his lucky day. I hadn't been paying attention.

Though it was nearly unbearable to feel like a ravenous animal 24/7, I couldn't say I resented what Riley had done to me. My short time in this second life was already heaps better than my sixteen years as a human.

For once I was strong and powerful. I had the satisfaction of finally being able to overpower my dad. I didn't hesitate in acting my revenge. He was the first person I killed.

Well… Perhaps I should clarify. The first person I consciously decided I should kill. Who knows how many came before that in the countless times I'd lost my head with the frenzy. It was almost like having a blackout every time I found someone to drink.

I guess it was similar to shooting up heroin in more ways than one… The euphoria was so intense, you almost forgot who you were. If you weren't careful, you'd find yourself stepping back from a pile of mangled bodies thinking to yourself, 'Did I do that?'

The craving came much too often. If you could even call it that. It was more like a desperate pursuit of relief.

Tonight, I stood shrouded in the shadows of the tall buildings, all the places around me wrecked and abandoned. A typical night on the town. I was just waiting for someone to make a decision already. Thirsty as I was, I didn't want to speak up about it, but I wished they'd hurry and decide. Oh, well. It was only a matter of time before the casual passerby came too close. He or she wouldn't even have time to realize what was coming.

Unfortunately, Riley had sent me out with two of the biggest idiots in existence. This time I was stuck with Katrina and some other girl who was pretty new. I didn't even bother learning her name. They both belonged to Rachel's little pack, so it was needless to say they were stupid, and therefore dangerous. But mostly, they were just stupid.

Instead of figuring out where to find our next unlucky victims, they were distracted, arguing with each other over petty nonsense. I just wished we could get on with it.

Someone else caught my eye, though. I hadn't realized Riley had sent a third girl on this hunting party. She was just now making an appearance. Deena, I think was her name. From all the stories I'd heard, she was one of the oldest in our group. Some said she was the closest person to Riley.

And I always thought that was weird, because Riley didn't really like anyone. My guess would be that she simply disliked Deena the least.

I noticed Deena looking at me then. I must have sighed out loud in my irritation, and she'd heard it.

Katrina was taunting the other girl now. "I'll show you how a real bitch hunts!"

Katrina stepped out into the street just as a car was whizzing around the corner. She stuck her arms forward, prepared to stop it. The driver just kept coming on, expecting Katrina to move out of the way like any normal person would.

Then she jumped forward before the BMW could brake, grabbed the car's front bumper, and tossed it like a child's toy over her head. It crashed upside down behind her with a screech of bending metal and shattering glass. The man inside started yelling out in pain.

"Ugh, for Christ sakes…" I heard Deena mutter. "Was that really necessary? Someone's a showoff."

She was pretty, almost as pretty as Riley. She had dark, thick hair that waved down past her shoulders. Her skin was pale like the rest of ours, but it had somewhat of an olive undertone to it. I could tell from her features she was Hispanic. Her big, wide eyes and full lips were probably her best feature. But then again, who in Riley's crowd wasn't good-looking? Even Katrina and Rachel and the other dumbasses could be considered attractive.

"Oh, shut up, Dee! You've gotta learn to have some fun once in a while," Katrina called out. She hopped over to the upside-down vehicle and punched the window out, grabbing the driver.

"Shame," she said. "He's a looker. Too bad I'm thirsty."

I turned around and held my breath, concentrating on not losing my head. I couldn't watch her take the bite without slipping up. And I definitely didn't want to get into a fight with her.

The blonde girl wasn't scared of Katrina, though. She was probably new. New and woefully ignorant. She ran over to the car, and Katrina hissed like a wild animal. But I still heard the wet tearing of flesh. Katrina was probably too thirsty to care. They'd probably ripped the man in half at this point.

I had to try so hard not to think about it. The burn flared up my throat like acid. I could hear the delicious wet sloshing of blood falling onto the ground. I could hear it as they chugged it down their throats. I could feel the mouth-watering heat from the body. It didn't even help that I stopped breathing. The fire raged on, begging me to do something about it.

"C'mon, let's get out of here," Deena said to me as she leaped up onto the nearest building.

The fire was so unbearable now. It felt horrible to turn and run away from the one thing that could extinguish it. But I followed Deena anyway.

She leaped from building to building. It wasn't hard for me to catch up. I was younger than she was, and therefore faster. I was curious to see where she was going, anyway. Hopefully finding someone to drink. But she didn't stop for miles. We were almost to the docks of the bay when I heard her murmuring under her breath.

"Those idiots! Riley gave us clear instructions to feed discretely, not to tear apart the whole city."

"Hey," I called. "So are we going to hunt or what?"

She spun around to look at me on one of the wide rooftops, but she didn't seem aggressive.

"Sure," she said. "I just had to get away from those lunatics."

She smiled in a friendly way, and I just stared back. This wasn't something I was used to. She wasn't anything like the others. She was so calm. Everyone else was so out of control… so deranged.

Deena was so normal, it was almost like she was human. Her eyes were a really deep red that was also different. They were more like Riley's. I guess that meant she was older than the rest of us.

The streets below were buzzing with the sound of cars on late-night strolls. Thumping rap music echoed through the streets, and a few people scurried about, in a hurry to get wherever they were going.

"You're Branden, right?" Deena asked. "You're one of the newer recruits, aren't you?"

I didn't like being called new. "Yeah, but I'm not that new," I said defiantly. "I wasn't part of the last group to come up. Riley brought me in three months ago."

"No shit? You're pretty tame for a three-monther. I wouldn't have expected you to be able to leave the scene of an attack like that."

I laughed. "It wasn't worth it. I didn't want to get into it with those freaks."

She nodded. "I don't blame you. I can't stand them."

It was so weird to have a regular conversation. No hostility, no suspicion. Like she wasn't thinking about ways she could kill me right now.

Deena pulled a cigarette and a lighter out of her back pocket and lit up. She puffed a long stream of smoke high into the air.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "You're smoking?"

She shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"I guess I wouldn't have thought substances did anything for us any longer."

"Oh, it doesn't." She took another puff. "I just like the novelty of it. Going through the motions makes me feel like myself again."

"Huh…" I always hated cigarettes. My dad couldn't keep them out of his stupid mouth. His whole house and all of my clothes reeked of the stench. I thought it smelled even worse with this nose.

"Anyway, how long have you been with Riley?" I asked curiously.

"I'd say about six months now."

"Holy shit… You're the oldest I've heard of."

"Yep. El grupo numero uno…" She flicked the cigarette butt onto the ground. "Most of the others from my group are gone."

"Wasn't Rachel part of the next group?"

She rolled her eyes and spit venom onto the concrete roof. "Yeah, I remember when Riley brought that trash in. Things all went downhill from there."

I wondered for a moment if she thought everyone was trash. Not that I cared. I learned long ago not to care what anyone thought of me. Riley had told me it didn't matter who liked me now. I was a superhuman, faster, stronger, and in every way better than before. No one else mattered.

"Well, here we go," Deena pointed down to the street below. "Just takes a little patience."

Hidden in the dark alley, a man was cursing and beating a woman senseless. Judging by the way she was dressed, I guessed this was a pimp and one of his girls.

I always felt better doing it this way. Hunting the scum that no one would miss. Riley told us not to kill important-looking people. I wouldn't have thought it would matter to her. There was nothing the humans could do about it.

I still had my preferences, though. Right now was when you were able to make those kinds of decisions because once you let yourself think about the blood too much, the instincts took over. At that point, your body moved without input from your brain, and there was no turning back.

I still didn't understand, though, how it made sense to create a whole swarm of vampires. How did that help Riley? There was just more competition now for the blood. And she definitely didn't do it for the company. Riley acted like we were all the biggest annoyance she had to deal with, like she'd been assigned as babysitter. She seemed smart, though. So I knew she had a good reason for what she was doing.

We all fought a lot. It wasn't uncommon that one of us would turn up dismembered, and someone would find a way to burn them to ashes before they had the chance to piece themselves back together. Then Riley would scream in fury and break shit, and there would be another confiscation of all lighters and matches. She couldn't really keep them away from us, though. Whenever we lost a few, Riley would soon show up with more newly-turned kids, most of whom didn't last beyond a few days. It was the typical cycle.

I turned off my brain now, deeply inhaling the sweet scent of our prey below. Deena dropped down first, out of sight. The humans didn't even notice when she hit the ground next to them. I jumped off the roof, landing right beside the crying woman. My throat flared, and then I couldn't think of anything else.

I yanked the woman away from the pimp, shoving her into the wall, and she screamed in horror. The man pulled out his gun, but the bullets might as well have been flies landing on my back. I ignored them as I felt the heat under her skin, the thudding pulse in her neck.

She opened her mouth to scream again, but I cut her off as I crushed her windpipe. The blood was so warm and sweet. It washed away the fire and brought relief to my waiting stomach. The pleasure was so intense that my eyes rolled back in my head. I couldn't compare it to anything else, not sex, not drugs. It was the ultimate high.

I heard Deena slam the man into the ground, his gun clattering against the pavement. Just seconds later the girl was dry, and I tossed her body down in frustration. They never seemed to hold enough blood. The burn was still there.

I could hear another set of footsteps at the opening of the alley. Unlucky for her, I wasn't going to be able to stop myself now. I sank my teeth into her as well. This one was even better than the first. Her blood was so clean, free of the bitterness of drugs or alcohol I had gotten used to.

When my head cleared up enough to think again, I thought it was weird that Deena let me have this one. She had been standing closer to her than I had been. She was fair game.

I finally felt full after the second woman. I probably wouldn't feel the burn for a good twenty-four hours now. Then in a couple of days, the fire would be so intense I wouldn't be able to stand another second of it. I only wished Riley would let us feed more often.

Deena was waiting for me now since she had already finished off the man. She just watched me.

"Uh, thanks, I guess. For letting me have this one."

She nodded. "You looked like you needed it more than me. I know how it is in the beginning."

"Does it ever get any better?"

"I think so… Maybe in some ways. Like, I don't think the burn ever goes away. It just becomes easier to deal with. I think I should be good for at least a week now."

"Yeah, that must be the part that gets easier," I sighed. "I'll be burning again in two days. And with my luck, Riley will send me out with Rachel and the bitches again."

"I can come with you if you want," Deena said. "Riley usually lets me do what I want."

For some reason, I was put at ease with her offer. Deena was different. I didn't feel like I needed to watch my back as much when I was with her. It was probably stupid, but I think I actually trusted her.

"That'd be hella tight," I said, trying to sound smooth. But as soon as it came out, I felt embarrassed. Way too eager.

"Cool," was all she said.

"So what's with you and Riley?"

"She just doesn't worry about me, I guess."

Because Deena was so strange… so tame. And I had to admit, I was a little bit fascinated by this girl. I wanted to follow her around every night and see what she was up to, but I realized if I did, I might look like her dog or something. Much in the same way Katrina and the blonde girl followed Rachel around.

We traversed the rooftops again, retracing our scent. We went back to the alleyway from earlier where the imbeciles had gone crazy with the car.

"Seriously?" Deena scoffed as she peered over the closest ledge.

Katrina and company appeared to have just left. Two other cars were piled on top of the one from earlier. The cops had just shown up, lights flashing. They stood around the scene totally dumbfounded. Instead of cars piled up in an accident, it more so resembled cars that were thrown on top of each other by a giant, tantrum-throwing baby.

"I suppose we should go back to Riley's," Deena said after a moment.

The house was the last place I wanted to be. I wasn't ready to see Rachel's stupid face or listen to the girls argue and fight all night. Besides that, I was out of comics to read.

Deena must have noticed my expression. "We don't have to go just yet. I could use some new music."

"Yeah, I was just thinking about how I needed new reading material."

We made our way over to the friendlier part of town to find a strip mall with one of those big chain media stores. I snapped the latch on the roof hatch and let us in. I learned that trick long ago. More often than not, only the windows and doors had sensors for the security systems. Motion cameras weren't an obstacle either. With these eyes I could pick up the infrared light they relied on. It was all too easy to avoid the path of the sensors.

I went straight to the 'M' section of the comics, and Deena headed over to the CDs. I picked up the next dozen or so issues in line. That should last me a few more days.

"Score!" Deena shouted. "They have Linkin Park! I love them."

I looked up to see her reading the backs of the CDs she'd just picked up. I nodded at her and went to sit at a small table with my comics.

Deena sat down with me then with two handfuls of CDs, and she started mulling over the backs of each one.

It was really nostalgic to be just casually sitting here across from someone at a table talking about things that weren't life and death or thirst and blood. The last time I experienced anything like this was in another life that seemed a hundred years ago, not three months ago. It was like trying to remember a dream you'd had last night, faded by the hours of consciousness that came after.

"Now that I think about it," Deena said. "I never see you around the house. Where do you hide?"

I shrugged. "Usually behind one of the couches… behind Florence."

"Freaky Florence?" Her face twisted in disgust. "Ugh, how can you stand it?"

"I got used to it."

It wasn't that Florence smelled bad or anything. In fact, all vampires actually smelled really good. There was just something about her that repulsed you. I couldn't really put my finger on it.

"I found it's the best place to be if you want to stay away from the others. No one ever goes near her."

Deena nodded. "That's true. Whatever it takes to stay unnoticed and stay alive. Did you know that she's one of Riley's favorites?"

"Really? What makes you think that?" I honestly didn't think anyone liked Florence.

She looked around as if someone might be listening.

"I heard Riley on the phone with… Him," she whispered.

I dropped the book I was looking at when she mentioned our creator. No one ever spoke about Him. He was supposedly the one Riley was working for, the one who had bitten all of us.

"It was weeks ago… Riley was talking about Florence, all excited. Apparently, some vampires can do things. Things that are extra, beyond what we already can do."

"Extra?" My ears perked up at that one.

"Like psychic abilities… you know, superhero stuff. It's something He is looking for. Vampires with skillssss."

She drew out the Z sound when she said the last word.

"No way."

"I'm not lying. Supposedly the reason people don't like being around Florence is that she doesn't want them to be near her. She controls it. She does it with her head." Deena tapped her forehead.

"She makes people not like her? Why would that be useful?" I asked skeptically.

"Because it keeps people away from her. It's kept her alive all this time, hasn't it?"

"I guess so. Keeps me alive too. Did they say anything else?"

"She also talked about Rachel."

I laughed. "What does she have? Super-stupidity?"

"Oh, definitely that!" she chuckled. "But I guess they think she has the other effect. Some appealing power. It's like a magnetism where people want to be her friend."

Now I realized maybe why so many of the others hung around her so much.

"I guess it only works on the mentally challenged," I snorted.

"Yeah, Riley said something like that. It doesn't seem to work on the less wild kids. Anyway, it was like they needed Rachel to lead something. I have this suspicion… I think something, like, something big is coming."

"Like what?"

"Well, haven't you ever wondered why they keep creating more and more of us? Riley doesn't hang out with us or really do much with us. It's like she needs us for something in the future… something for Him."

I suddenly felt suspicious of Deena. What if Riley was using her to get other kids to open up about what they thought of her? But then again, Deena seemed genuine. I could see it in her eyes. They were confiding.

"Yeah, I think about that a lot," I admitted.

"There's no way we're the only clan of vampires in the world," Deena continued. "And you've never noticed anything about mass-mystery killings around here or anywhere else… So it almost seems like the other vampires in the world run alone or in small groups. There can't be too many of them out there. Otherwise, they'd get found out. The body count would be too high to ignore."

"It just doesn't make any sense," I said. "I mean, Riley doesn't even seem to like us very much. She's always so pissed off. And He has never introduced himself or even let us see who he is. So why would they want us?"

"You wanna know what I think?" Deena asked. Her voice got quieter.

"What?" I whispered.

"I think she needs us to do some kind of dirty work for Him. At first, I was thinking he needed us to protect Him from something. But then I realized if that were the case, He surely would have clued us in on what to protect him from. And we don't even know where He is or what He looks like. So how could we protect Him? It could only mean that He needs us to do something, and Riley is about to tell us what that is."

"That makes sense," I agreed.

Deena looked out the window. The faintest glow of the impending sunrise was starting to become evident.

"Looks like it's time to carpe the hell out of this diem," she said.

"Yeah, don't wanna get crispy," I laughed.

We made one more errand on the way. We went into the nearest Target to grab some Ziploc bags. Soggy books weren't that great for reading.

With time racing against us, we slipped into the river and headed toward Riley's place. At first, I didn't notice this was a contest. I was just booking it because the sky was getting lighter. I wasn't used to pushing time like this. But then Deena really kicked it into gear and got several yards ahead of me.

See ya, I mouthed as I swam passed her. I didn't look back to see if she was catching up. My main priority was getting back to the island before the sun rose. The latest place we called home was isolated by dense trees, had a big, dark basement, and most importantly, had recently deceased owners.

Two things sent me into a panic when I got up out of the water at the shoreline.

One: we were dangerously close to the breaking dawn.

Two: the house wasn't there.

It wasn't entirely gone. Parts of it were visible. The roof had collapsed.

The sun was coming fast. I was starting to see the colors developing in the trees. In a matter of minutes the sun would peek up over the horizon, and we'd be dead. My thirsty, crazy second life would go up in flames… painful flames, I imagined. It didn't matter if you could run a million miles an hour. You couldn't outrun the sun. We needed a place to hide right now or we didn't have a chance.

It honestly didn't come as a surprise the house was already destroyed. With a couple dozen vampires crammed together, our dwellings didn't last very long at all.

"We just need to burrow under the roof," I said frantically. "Maybe that will be enough."

"Don't freak out, Branden." Her voice was so calm it was unnerving. "I know a place. Come on!"

She did a very graceful backflip back into the water. I didn't think the water would be enough to filter out the sun's rays. But maybe we couldn't burn if we were underwater? I really didn't want to test the theory, but I guess we had no choice at this point.

I caught up in the race this time—a race against her… a race against the sun. And then we descended even deeper, into a ravine at the bottom of the river. It wasn't going to be fun sitting underwater all day. I didn't like not breathing. Our sense of smell was our biggest detector of possible danger. Going without it was anxiety-inducing.

But Deena disappeared into a wide crack in the rocks. It was black as ink in there. And then the space got too tight. I couldn't swim anymore. I had to squeeze my way through. Suddenly I realized we were going upward. And then I heard Deena break the water's surface. I was out a second after her. The underwater cave was a small hole, barely big enough for the two of us.

"Nice hidey hole," I said.

"You're welcome," she smiled.

We looked at each other in the darkness for a moment. With anyone else this would have been dangerous, being trapped so close to someone else. We were almost touching.

It was awkwardly quiet. Then, out of nowhere, she asked, "How old are you?"

"I told you, like three months…"

"That's not what I meant. How old were you?"

That one brought me up short. No one ever asked about our human lives. It was supposed to be like some sort of taboo.

"I was… I dunno, fifteen, I think. I'm not really sure. It was almost my birthday, but I lost track of the days toward the end. I may have just turned sixteen by the time Riley found me. What about you?"

"Almost eighteen. I was so close to getting out of here."

There was an awkward silence before she changed the subject.

"You've done so well since you got here. You've even remained totally intact. At least from the looks of things."

I shrugged and then yanked up my left shirt sleeve to reveal the faint scar that went around my arm. "Not entirely intact. Got this ripped off once," I admitted. "Luckily I got it back before John could toast it. Riley showed me how to reattach it."

She smiled wryly and lifted up the leg of her jeans, showing a similar scar around her thigh. "It happens to everyone."

"Ouch," I said.

Though losing a limb was extremely painful, I had learned it wasn't a permanent injury. I had just stared at Riley dumbfounded when she insisted I lick the end of my detached arm. What was even weirder was still having full control of a limb that was no longer attached to my body. I couldn't believe my eyes as the two pieces of my body seemed to weld themselves back together almost seamlessly.

"I don't understand what Riley is doing!" she said, suddenly angry. "Sorry. Just thinking out loud. It doesn't make any sense. I want to know why she keeps taking the ones she does to Him. Why does she choose the crazy ones and not people like you? Wouldn't He need the sane ones? Not the reckless, totally careless ones?"

It almost seemed like she was jealous that she wasn't being taken to see this guy. I was curious to know her story.

"So how did Riley ever find you in the first place?" I asked.

"I wasn't a gangbanger like most of our fellow comrades. I stayed in school. Studied. I had planned on saving up for college and going one day. But then my kid brother got involved in some gang. When I found out they were going to make him kill someone to be initiated, I tried to stop it. And there I was, in a secluded neighborhood, standing between the gang leader and my brother who was barely sixteen."

"What happened?"

"Riley just appeared out of nowhere. The gang leader tried to grab her, and she snapped his arm in half. His boys opened fire on her, and you should have seen their faces when she'd just glared at them through the spray of bullets. She killed every last one of them in less than a second, including my brother. I was the only one who hadn't been holding a gun. And you know what she asked me?"

I did my best impression of Riley. "Ready to be part of the army?"

"How did you know?"

"That's exactly what she said to me. I suppose it doesn't surprise me it was scripted."

"So what's your story? Where did she find you?"

"Well…" I huffed. "I think unlike most of us, Riley didn't take me away from anything. You could say she saved me, for all intents and purposes. I was a runaway. I hadn't eaten in weeks."

"Yeah, I'd noticed you look a little skinny."

I laughed. "I was a walking skeleton towards the end. I looked terrible."

"You don't look so bad now."

I shrugged. "The changing beefs you up a little, I think. That's why everyone looks so toned up. Anyway, Riley did feed me a little, so I felt obligated to do whatever she wanted. That's when it happened."

We both shuddered at the shared painful memory.

"So I'm innocent, mostly…"

"Mostly?"

"I killed my dad, but that motherfucker had it coming. It was when I found out that he had killed my mom. I always thought she'd run away from us when I was little. So he was one of the first people I decided to kill. I was careful though, not to spill any blood."

"What?"

"That would be weird… to drink your own dad's blood. Believe me. I hated him. I wasn't going to drain him, though."

"No, I get you," she said.

"But yeah, I have my own theory about Riley. She doesn't need brains or mentally stable people. She needs numbers. We're just pieces in a game. She, or rather He, is playing chess, and instead of valuing the rooks and queens the most, he strategizes with the pawns."

"Wow, you really make us sound so important," she said sarcastically.

"Yeah, I don't really like to think that either. Sorry I suggested it."

"So what do we do?" she asked me. It was like we were already a team.

I thought about it a minute. "I really don't know what to do. How could we know? We don't know anything about what's happening. It makes it impossible."

"You know, I tried prying things out of Riley once. To get some answers. All she told me was that I had more important things to worry about. Like thirst."

We sat in silence for a long time in the total darkness.

"So what have you learned from Riley?"

I had to think for a minute. "She doesn't tell us anything. Just the vampire basics."

"I'm starting to even question the accuracy of that," she said.

"How?"

"Oh, wait till you see this!" she said as she started climbing up into a hole in the ceiling of the cave.

"Deena, don't!" I warned. "What if the light comes in?"

"Relax!" she called back. "Want to see how high I can go?"

"Please don't," I pleaded.

Suddenly she popped back down through the hole, and the darkness in the cave lifted slightly.

"What the hell are you doing? You're going to ruin a perfectly good hideout!"

"You need to unwind, dude. I've experimented with this. Indirect sunlight doesn't do anything to us!"

"Oh, so now you're suggesting I could just casually stand out under a shade tree and be fine?"

She paused a moment. "I did that once, actually."

I stared at her, waiting for her to laugh at her joke. But she was serious.

"But Riley said…"

"Yeah, yeah. Riley said. I think it's more like Riley is full of shit, or Riley doesn't even know what the hell she's talking about."

This floored me.

"No, you know how it goes! That's why they've always said vampires don't come out during the day. They burn up. That's where the whole sleeping in coffins thing comes from."

"It's all bullshit, Branden. Listen to yourself. You just said that we sleep in coffins."

"Well, not that part, but…"

"I think the legends are just that. Legends. To put people's minds at ease so they'd feel safe during the day, at least. Like they have some advantage over us. And you know what else the legends say? That a human could just walk up with a wooden stake and drive it through you. Do you really think that would work? That pimp back there just unloaded a clip in you. I seriously don't think a human could leave even a scratch on one of us."

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it only works when a human does it, and the wood has to have some special properties or something."

"You're ridiculous," she sighed.

Then she was off again, tearing up through the hole. I could hear her clawing near the surface.

"Deena, if you hit the surface, you die!" I shouted.

"Watch me, mister superstition!"

"Deena, stop it! We're vampires! I think our very existence proves that the superstitious people are right! Come on, this is silly. Why take a chance?"

"You're right. It is silly! The stories aren't real, Branden."

I cowered away from the hole and began sliding back down into the water. Then she dropped down again, and to my relief, no light followed her. She was holding a long vine, though, and I traced it up the tunnel. She looked at me with a smug expression.

My voice quavered. "Deena… Don't. You. Dare."

She yanked the vine. A beam of brilliant white light came blazing down through the hole in a pillar the thickness of my arm. The cave was a hundred times lighter now. But Deena didn't jerk away in pain.

That's when I noticed it; there was a slight movement in her skin like she was reflecting the beam. She was starting to burn.

"We have to get out of here!" I shouted. My voice cracked with the panic.

I was just about to jump back in the water when, of all things, she stuck her arm out, palm up, reaching for the light.

I threw myself at her faster than a speeding bullet before I could even think for myself. I slammed into her just milliseconds before she could touch the beam. But that's when I realized there wasn't enough space in this tight corner for us both to be positioned clear of the shaft of light. But it was too late. As soon as I made contact with her body, I felt the heat in my leg.

And in the same instant, the entire cave burst into a blinding blaze.


	20. DAMN, I NEVER SAW THAT ONE COMING

17\. DAMN, I NEVER SAW THAT ONE COMING

"How bad is it?" I asked, cowering on the other side of the cave. I was curled into the fetal position with my hands covering my eyes, prepared for the painful onslaught.

"Whoa!" Deena gasped. "Your leg looks fine to me. Did you see that?"

I glanced down, terrified. And to my astonishment, there was nothing wrong with my leg. I felt no pain at all.

"But! I… I was just on fire! The room! The flames… everywhere!"

"You're crazy as hell!" she laughed. "I wanna try!"

The second her fingers crossed the beam, it was like someone had flipped on a light switch. The room was drenched in brilliant rays of light again. I recoiled automatically, clenching my teeth together.

"Unreal!" Deena whispered, totally mesmerized.

She rolled her hand around in the beam, and the reflections on the walls spun around and shimmered.

But there was no smell of burning flesh. And she didn't appear to be in any pain. It made no sense.

"Dude, you have to try this!" Her face lit up like a child discovering a new toy.

I was indeed curious, but I was still reluctant to touch the light.

"Wha…? It doesn't hurt?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Not at all. It actually feels kind of good," she said. "The light just reflects in a strange way off of us. I guess that makes sense… We're so hard, and apparently shiny. It's almost like we're made of diamonds."

And that was a pretty accurate description. Deena's skin looked like it was made of millions of tiny diamonds, each reflecting the light away in ever-so-varied angles.

Reluctantly, I stuck inched my hand forward into the light, and the room blazed even brighter. I couldn't help but flinch when the light went scattering off my skin. I marveled at the prismatic effect as it danced all along the walls.

I was suddenly furious. "What… the… hell? Why did Riley tell us not to go out in the day, then?" I had lived the last three months absolutely mortified that I might be caught out in the daylight. I felt more stupid in that moment than I ever had in both my lives.

Deena shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't realize it herself yet. But doesn't this make sense, though? Imagine a human witnessing this with their shitty vision. Wouldn't you believe the vampire had caught on fire?"

"And then it would be too late anyway," I added.

"Forget this hidey hole, man. Let's get out of here!"

She bounded off through the hole to the open air above. When we reached the surface, everything around us lit up from the glow.

"Whoa…" I muttered.

Deena's face was illuminated so beautifully with light that I couldn't stop looking at it. She looked like an angel instead of a vampire. She touched my face then, probably seeing the same thing on my skin, trying to understand the shine.

"I never really noticed before." Her hand pressed to my face. "Did you know you're sort of… beautiful?"

I felt uncomfortable with the scrutiny as she stared. "I think the light has you a little dazed."

"No, it's true."

"Well, thanks. I guess. You're pretty beautiful yourself."

I felt the strangest sensation deep within me that I wasn't familiar with. And it wasn't unpleasant. I suddenly needed to go out of my way to protect this girl I barely knew. Why?

I'm not sure how long we stood there just taking each other in. Hopefully, no mud-eyed human saw us. A stray cloud eclipsed the morning sun, and we were almost our normal selves again. A slight shimmer remained without the direct sun, but it was so faint, I couldn't help but wonder if humans would be able to tell the difference. What if we could just casually walk among them?

"I don't suppose it would do much good tracking during the day," she said. "Too noticeable."

"That's for sure."

We spent the whole day wandering aimlessly, trying to find our long-lost group. It was annoying to have to scramble and hide every time the humans came into view. I was getting tired of the water. But I didn't think Riley would ever look for us if she assumed we'd gotten toasted this morning.

We picked up on the scent a little after dusk. We'd been concentrating too hard on the islands. The trail took off onto the mainland. But once we'd crossed the scent, it was as easy following footprints in snow.

"I don't think we should say anything," I said. "Let's say we hid out in that cave until we could look for her again."

"You think she's bad, don't you?" she accused.

"We just can't be sure. Better safe than sorry."

I grew more and more anxious as we ran. It was taking way longer than expected, but there was no way this was the wrong trail. We got so far from the metropolis that the scenery began to change. It was like a whole new territory.

Every other house we had used was somewhere on the outskirts of Seattle. That was always consistent. It was like Seattle was the target. It felt strange now to get so far away from the main hub. It must have meant something was changing today. I was already on edge because of our recent discovery, and I didn't want any more surprises.

We were almost to the coast when we finally found it.

It was impossible to mistake the sounds coming from within the house. The bumping bass of music and the inhuman snarling resonated all around it, making it a vampire beacon.

"Hey, I don't even know you," I said jokingly.

"Yeah, who are you, stranger?" she laughed. Then quickly she said, "Just act the way you normally do. We don't know each other so well. Tomorrow we'll meet up again and maybe do some recon. Figure out what the hell is going on."

"Good idea."

She ducked in toward me suddenly and kissed me. A quick peck, right on the lips. It sent a shock through my whole body. Then she just said, "Okay. Let's do this."

She darted off toward the house, and she was a stranger again. It was a big cabin that tucked naturally into the pines. Not a single neighbor in sight. The windows were blacked out, of course, so it looked as though no one was home, but it didn't sound that way.

Deena went first, nonchalantly striding down the long stairs. I followed but kept the same distance I would have if I hadn't met her yet.

"Oh, look. Deena's alive after all," I heard Katrina call out.

"No thanks to you," Deena said back.

I slipped silently into the basement.

I found Florence sitting on a couch in the back of the room. No one else sat with her, as usual. I braced myself as the revulsion hit me, and I found my spot behind the big sectional. Once I was behind her, though, Florence's power seemed to ease up. I couldn't decide if I was just getting used to her 'magic' or if she was just letting me get nearer.

More than half our members were gone because it was the middle of the night. Those of us here all had bright red eyes because we'd all recently fed. You were only supposed to go out if you started to go black.

"Nice mess you made out there, by the way," Deena said to Katrina.

Katrina smiled. "That's how I do things. I see the boy made it, too."

"Yeah, he followed me," Deena said casually. "You don't get extra points for being a moron though."

"Blah, blah. Go tattle to Riley. She thinks her little pet is dead," said another voice. Rachel.

"I don't belong to anyone."

"Oh, yeah, sure. Don't tell me you think that she wouldn't care if I killed you right here. It wouldn't even take all of us here to end you. And we'd get rid of all the evidence that you made it through the day," Katrina threatened. She glanced at me then.

I rolled into a crouch, tensed to spring.

But the next thing I knew, this awful wave of repulsion rolled over me, and I couldn't even stay on my feet. I retched like I was about to puke, toppling over in revulsion. And I wasn't the only one to react.

The room filled with disgusted snarls and gagging sounds. A few people retreated to the walls, getting as far away from Florence as possible. Rachel's distinctive growl moved up the stairs. A few of them followed after her.

As horrible as I felt, I was thanking Florence in my head. She'd probably just prevented a fight. But who knew why?

The feeling subsided slowly. As soon as I could, I stood up. Deena was still in the room, but all of Rachel's gang had left. The others started to pull themselves away from the walls.

"Keep it quiet," said a strange voice I had never heard before. It was Florence. And even though she spoke out loud for the first time, the others didn't turn to look at her. It was like they couldn't make their heads turn.

I was starting to think this wasn't so much about anyone caring for me as it was for the sake of peace and quiet. I could understand that, and I was probably still here because of it. I wondered if Riley realized how powerful Florence truly was. She was able to almost clear a room in a few seconds.

A few hours later we were still waiting there. I continuously made an effort to look at Florence, but I couldn't. The revulsion would roll through me every time I peeked. But it distracted me from thinking about Deena. She was still there at the opposite end of the room listening to her CDs.

Luckily, Riley came back before Rachel did. She went to Deena right away. I sat with my back turned to them, eavesdropping on every word.

"Good job making it back," Riley said to her. "I can always count on you."

"No problem. Unless you count holding my breath underwater all day as a negative," she laughed.

Riley laughed, too. "Don't stay out so late then. Set a good example for the children."

Was it a good thing that Riley was so in with Deena? I couldn't decide. Maybe if she were okay after all, their friendship wouldn't get in the way of what we had.

Time passed so slowly during the days when we were imprisoned indoors. It was so crowded in here. Riley would have lost her voice from all the screaming if she could have. A couple kids lost their limbs today. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nobody burned, though.

I tried reading my comics, but I just couldn't find any interest in them. I left the books on the end of the couch for Florence. I never knew if she actually read them or not, but it was my way of thanking her. My hiding place was just as effective as ever because of her presence. The others never looked my way.

Though there was no visible way to see it was getting dark out, I could tell the day was coming to an end. After repeating the daily cycle so many times, we all had a good sense of time passing. The others began to get restless and even louder, begging Riley if they could go out yet, like kids.

"Kyle, you just went last night," Riley said, annoyed. "Hayden, Jen, Lora, go ahead. Haley, your eyes are pitch black. What have you been doing? Go ahead with them."

I heard their eager footsteps running up the stairs.

"Sam! I'm not blind. Get back here," she called up the stairs. "Uh, Florence, I believe it's your turn as well," she said without ever looking in our direction.

People shied away as Florence made her way out of the basement, except Riley. She smiled after her. She liked her little vampire with 'skills.' I felt so exposed with her gone. I held perfectly still, trying not to bring attention to myself. I could have been used as a shop mannequin.

Riley would generally stick around to make sure no one else snuck out. But this time she was in a hurry. She seemed anxious. And I knew that probably meant she was about to go see him.

After she left, I heard Kyle and his usual companions sneak out. I followed after them in their wake.

Once I was out of the house, I immediately scrambled into the woods. I could only hope Deena would follow me. I started up the incline of the nearest mountain and found a perch at the top of a big spruce tree. I had a bird's eye view of anyone who might come this way.

Deena was the only one to come looking. I saw her far away, so I backtracked to meet her.

"Such a long day," she said as she hugged me.

I hugged her back, nodding. "Good thing we have Florence."

She laughed. "I wonder if Riley knows how potent she is."

"I don't think so. I spend a lot of time around her, and I've never seen her do anything like that. It was crazy how they just fled to the walls. It was like someone dropped a stink bomb in there."

"You must be really good at tolerating her. I don't know how you did it."

I laughed. "I didn't actually. I was sort of incapacitated because I was so close. It was awful. I would have thrown up if that sort of thing were possible."

"So, do you think we should tell Riley?" she asked.

"About Florence? Why?"

"No, not that. About the sun."

I shook my head quickly. "I really don't think it's a good idea. I was thinking about it all day… and I have a sort of plan."

"Plan?"

"Well, I'm fairly sure that if Riley believes the thing about the sun, we could use that as an alibi. Just in case she's up to no good. If we ran away, she'd just assume we got torched."

"Hmmm," Deena thought. "Well, how do you feel about a little adventure?"

"It depends."

"You know… finding out as much as we can. We need information if we're going to determine if we like Riley or not."

"Okay. So what do you have in mind?"

"I say we follow her. Find out what she's doing."

I stared. "But she'll figure out we're following her. She's smarter than that, Dee."

"I know. So I was thinking I could just follow her, so she'd only know about me. And you could come but stay a few hundred yards to the side and just follow the sound of my footsteps. I would tell her I had a suspicion about the whole sun thing, and we could see how she reacts. Maybe she'll let me in on it if she knows, or we can see if she really does believe it."

"But I have a feeling she's going to see Him. What if He's there?"

"That's a possibility. But I think that whatever is coming is coming fast. We don't have forever to figure this all out, so we're going to have to take risks."

"Fine," I lied.

I was paranoid as hell. I wasn't ready for change.

"Good. Just stay in the trees off that way. Track me from above if you want."

We ran back towards the cabin, and close by Deena caught Riley's scent. She ran on. The trees were so thick, I couldn't see her, but she made plenty of extraneous noise so that I could keep up. Finally, when she started to slow down, I moved up higher in the trees, listening. But then I actually saw it.

There was a small clearing in the trees. Near the center of the space was a strange looking house. It actually sort of reminded me of a gingerbread house. It was the sort of thing I would have laughed at if the situation weren't so tense.

I still didn't see Riley anywhere, but Deena had stopped, so I knew this must be where she was. Maybe this was the next house Riley was planning to take over when the cabin crumbled.

Deena spotted me then. I waved at her to come join me. She ran back into the trees the way she had come, retracing her scent, and then she leapt as high as possible, out to the side. I wondered if I could even jump that far. She landed in the tree branches and swung her way through the treetops over to me.

She took my hand right away. I silently nodded in the direction of the gingerbread house, and her mouth twitched into a smile. We took off that way. We stayed in the trees and got as close as we dared. There were just a few treetops left between us and the little house, and we hunkered down there. We sat patiently, listening.

The only thing I heard was the strangest noise, like a brushing, ticking sound. I looked at Deena and raised an eyebrow, and she puckered her lips into a kiss and laughed silently.

I guess I did recognize the sound as kissing. But it was so far from what I was expecting I just didn't think of that. I'd assumed Riley had come to confer with Him about their sinister plans… to make new recruits… conquer the world… whatever they were up to, not have a make-out session. I never would have thought this was some kind of love nest.

The kissing just went on. How was this going to be useful? Did we really need to sit here and listen to this? What if things progressed beyond just the kissing? I didn't want to stick around for that. Then a sigh came from inside the house, and the sounds stopped.

"How many?" asked a strange voice. A man's voice I recalled only now. I'd heard this voice before when I was burning. This had to have been Him. The one who had turned all of us.

But His voice wasn't what I expected at all. It wasn't menacing or intimidating. In fact, He sounded like a young boy instead of an adult.

"Twenty-two," Riley answered. "I thought I had lost two of them to the sun this morning, but the older one, she's smart."

"Are you absolutely sure they survived?"

"No, just the girl. I never saw the boy. Maybe he didn't make it. Who knows?"

It was good to know how much I meant to her.

"Excellent," He mused. The tension seemed to ease up a bit then. "How are they behaving? We're approaching the half-year mark. Are they all still following the normal patterns?"

"I believe so," said Riley. "It's all working flawlessly… what you told me to do. They don't even think about what they're doing. They just do it. The thirst keeps them so distracted. I think that's what keeps them controlled."

I narrowed my eyes at Deena. Riley didn't want us to think too much about this, apparently. Why?

"I'm so proud of you," the man whispered. Then there was another kiss. "Twenty-two!"

"So… Is now the time?" Riley asked eagerly.

His answer came back quickly. Like a slap. "No! I haven't decided when."

Riley hesitated. "I just don't understand why you keep putting it off…"

"You don't need to understand," he interrupted. "It's enough for you to know that our enemies have power. We can't be too careful."

"If they're so powerful, then why take the chance?"

His voice softened. "Well, even with what they are capable of… They'll be buried in bodies." He chuckled.

Deena and I hadn't looked away from each other throughout this conversation, and I could tell she was thinking exactly what I was thinking. Yeah, we'd been created for some grand purpose, and it was a secret. But our enemy wasn't really our enemy. It was His.

Did the distinction even matter?

"Decisions…" He muttered. "Maybe just a few extra? It wouldn't hurt."

"I don't know," Riley said, and I heard her step away and pace the room. "They always get a little stir crazy when we introduce a new group. They're so unstable. They'll probably start killing each other again."

He sighed. "That's probably true."

I watched as Deena stiffened and turned her attention to something else. She was staring out across the clearing. I flinched in fear. Had He come out of the house? I tensed up to see what had startled her.

Four figures were walking across the open field toward the house. They'd come to the clearing from the west, which was opposite from where we'd hidden. Luckily, we weren't upwind from them.

I had to blink three times because what I was seeing was so out of place. They were wearing these long, dark cloaks with hoods. Who the hell walked around with matching Goth clothes? I knew they were like us immediately because of how quiet they were. And I knew that if I had seen these four when I was a human, I definitely would have believed in vampires. Could these be the enemies He was talking about?

My first instinct was to flee. But we couldn't run now. We would run the risk of grabbing the dark cloaks' attention.

So we just watched anxiously as they came closer. They walked in a tight, diamond formation that never broke apart in the slightest. The one in front was a lot smaller than the others, like a child. I noticed that one's cloak was darker, too. They didn't seem to be tracking their way in through any sort of scent. They just seemed to know exactly where they were going.

I felt like I could breathe again when they started up the steps toward the door of the house. When they were out of sight, we would book it. They'd never know we'd been here.

I looked at Deena and twitched my head back in the direction we'd come. She held up a finger to stop me. Great… She wanted to eavesdrop on this, too. I scowled at her.

The cloaks had let themselves in as if they owned the place. And I could tell Riley and this man weren't expecting the company. It was absolutely silent in there. And they didn't run from whoever these vampires were. I was starting to think this wasn't the enemy He'd mentioned.

"Don't bother," a very clear, monotone voice commanded. It was high-pitched and childlike, similar to the man talking to Riley. "I think you are well aware who we are, so you must know there is no point in trying to surprise us. Or hide. Or fight us. Or run."

A woman's laughter that didn't belong to Riley echoed through the house.

"Relax," instructed the second voice. "We're not here to hurt you. At least, not yet."

There was a tense silence, and then the sound of shifting positions. I imagined Riley and the creator were probably sprawled all over each other in a way that wasn't suitable for company.

The man's voice was strained with fear. "If you're not here to kill us, then… why are you here?"

"We want information. Tell us. What is your purpose here? As you can imagine, you've created quite the mess of things in the area. Surely you must know the rules. A move of bad judgment like that must call for some serious means to the end…" the small voice explained.

I gave Deena an inquisitive look. Who were these people? Our creator sounded scared as shit of them, whoever they were. It's like they had some authority over Him. But what did He have to be afraid of? There were so many of us and just four of them…

"My plans…" the man started, and I could tell he was reluctant to explain, "have to do with a certain local clan. But we can't move yet. It's tricky with them, you see."

"Believe me, we are aware. It's remarkable you've managed to keep… off the radar, so to speak. Tell me, how are you managing that?"

The man hesitated. "I haven't made the decisions. Not to attack. I've never decided to do anything directly with them."

"Interesting… Rough, but effective. I like it," the boy said. "Unfortunately, your grace period has come to an end. You must decide now. Either let them do what they were created for, or we will end them. The law demands… and this reprieve troubles me. We will not abide this heresy any longer. I suggest you give us your assurances at once."

This wasn't making any sense at all to me. Radar? Law? What kind of laws did vampires obey? We went around killing people. Obviously, murder wasn't one of them.

"As soon as possible, we will go," the man assured the boy. "There is just so much to plan… And I assume that you wish I would succeed? If I could just have a little more time to get them ready."

There was a pause.

"Five days," the boy commanded. "We will return then. And I warn you that I mean it. Don't bother trying to pull anything over on us, either. There is nowhere you can hide, no speed at which you can run. I don't care how good you think you are at evasions. We will find you, and you will lose. If you have not made the attack by then, you will burn."

The words were so… menacing. But the boy said them with no malice, just an absolute certainty. Like he was delivering a court order.

"And when I do make the attack?" the man asked.

The boy laughed. "We will see when the time comes. To be honest, I doubt you will be successful. My prediction is that our duties will be rendered unnecessary. I suppose you'd better work hard to prove me wrong."

"Of course," the man agreed.

A second later the vampires in cloaks were exiting the house. Deena nor I did so much as blink for the next five minutes. They'd disappeared, but I couldn't take a single breath. Riley and the man were just as quiet.

This was our chance to escape. Now it wasn't Riley or the man I was afraid of anymore. It was those dark cloaks. I wanted the safety of numbers back at the house.

"Hellfire and damnation…" the man muttered inside the house. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. Now they know. Just perfect."

"Does it even matter?" asked Riley.

"Of course it matters! Any warning matters! There is so much to do, and only five days," He groaned. "No more fooling around. You start tonight."

"I won't fail you!" Riley promised.

Deena and I moved at the same time, fleeing from the scene. Riley was in a hurry now, and if she found Deena's trail after all that had just happened, and found no Deena at the end of it…

"I need to be back there waiting," Deena whispered to me as we raced.

"We need to talk to her together," I said.

"Branden, it's too risky."

She was trying to trap me into sitting this one out.

"Stick to the plan, B. I'll tell her what I planned to tell her. It's not close to dawn, but this is a good as it's going to get. If she doesn't believe me… Well, she has bigger things to worry about than me having an overactive imagination. Maybe she'd be more likely to listen now. Being able to move around during the day would give us so much more time."

"Deena, I…" I shook my head, but I didn't know what I could say to make her change her mind.

She looked into my eyes, and I waited for her lips to twitch into that easy smile I knew. She didn't, though. Instead, she leaned in slowly, never letting her eyes drift away, and pushed her lips onto mine. Her smooth lips hesitated there for one second as we started at each other.

Then she sighed and leaned away. "Get home. Hide behind Florence. Act clueless. I'll be back soon."

"Please be careful."

I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her hard, then let go. She was the only thing in the world that still mattered to me. The only friend I had. I couldn't let anything happen to her. Riley had spoken of her affectionately. And I really hoped that was real.

Once she'd disappeared, I sprinted in a straight line back to the house. The sound of the thudding bass greeted my approach. The sweet, smoky scent of burning vampire was also there.

My panic kicked into overdrive. I didn't slow, though. I rushed down the stairs straight to the corner to get behind Florence.

In the middle of the floor, there was a burning heap that no one seemed to care too much about. So much for Riley's twenty-two soldiers.

I looked at Florence as she sat there reading one of the books I'd left lying around. For the first time, I could really see what she looked like. Was she not blocking me now? Did she just turn that thing off whenever she wanted? Did that mean the others could see us too?

She was really tall, maybe six foot, with thick hair that went past her shoulders. She had wide shoulders for a girl, muscular. She was probably a college student, not a high school kid like most of us. The part that surprised me the most was… she was actually kind of attractive. As attractive as anyone else here. I don't know why this was so trippy to me. I guessed that just because she did the revulsion thing I always assumed she'd be ugly.

I felt weird for staring. I glanced around the room to see if anyone had noticed that Florence was normal for the moment. No one looked at us.

I did the only thing I could do then. I picked up a book and acted clueless. I flipped through the pages again and again, not really paying attention to the lines my eyes moved over. I honestly just wanted Deena to come back.

I thought about what Riley had said previously about the sun, that she'd lost two of us to it. Did that mean she honestly didn't know? She was pretty stupid if she'd never figured it out for herself.

Or did she really know the truth, and He didn't know she knew? What would she make of Deena telling her about it? The creator obviously didn't want us to know.

And then the thought hit me.

Of course He hadn't wanted us to know. Why else would we stay in these little houses cowering away all day long? He needed us to live in constant fear of being burnt up to keep us under control. He owned us. As long as we were afraid, we were the captives. Pieces in His game.

And if He found out that Deena knew…

I was suddenly so anxious I couldn't stand it. If I could sweat, I'd be soaked by now. It was so much harder not having anyone to discuss it with, and especially since I didn't know where Deena or Riley was.

Another thought brought me up short. Everyone here was new. We were all younger than Riley. We'd been created for this purpose of the attack, whatever that might be. But what about afterward?

I decided that I didn't want to be around for that part. I didn't have to stay here one more second… If only Deena would come back!

I thought about all of this in less than a second. I had to run for my life, but I was afraid to go out into this world alone. It took me no time to decide Deena was the only one I had. Maybe Florence could even come along, too. But could we even convince her? I was sure she wasn't overly attached to the people here.

Five days. That gave us time to escape. We could make it out of here and go as far as we wanted…. Canada, California, China…

We shouldn't have ever come back the other night! I felt so stupid. Why hadn't I thought of this before?

There was another reason though, besides just control. I could imagine people like us… Deena and Florence and me… Like ninjas moving through the shadows by day.

But the rest of them? Those idiots would be running around like fiery beacons in broad daylight for the world to see. They'd be running through the downtown streets, racking up bodies. The police would stand helpless with nothing but their dinky bullets that wouldn't so much as leave a scratch.

I could picture the helicopters, the cameras, all the media. Vampires wouldn't be such a secret then. But there were other vampires out there besides this clan, and you never heard anything about them. So why did seem so unanimous to all the others who kept the secret.

I started to think this had something to do with the black cloaks. They were clearly peeved off by us. The intimidating little boy had called this 'heresy.' This wasn't their way, and I could see why. We'd been tearing it up. They clearly wanted to keep the secret. And they talked like they were out to punish those who didn't obey. Was that it? Were they the reason all the world's vampires stayed in the dark? There had to be more of them though. I couldn't imagine a group of four maintaining order.

And crap, I was really starting to worry about Deena. What was the next logical step in my plan? As I stressed, I realized I'd been thinking for a very long time. I could feel the sun on the rise. So where was she? And where the hell was Riley?

The door opened not long after, and Rachel leaped down the stairs, cackling on about something with those stupid girls she ran around with. I slid closer to Florence. Rachel didn't notice us.

What if Riley had demanded that Deena prove it? So they were waiting until the sunrise. That would explain it. But that meant Riley didn't know the truth, and the creator had been lying to her, too.

Kyle showed up soon after Rachel with his gang. And just when dawn was about to break, I heard the door creak open. I sprang to my feet.

Riley came in, shutting the door behind her. She walked slowly down the stairs, jaw clenched. She looked pissed as hell.

No one looked at her when she came into the room, and that really seemed to drive her over the edge. Her eyes were fixed on the ashy remains of whoever was on the floor.

Riley exploded suddenly into a fit of rage.

Everyone stood silently. We'd all seen her lose her shit before, but this time was different.

Riley smashed her hand down on the boom box, cutting off the blaring music with a crunch. Then she leaped over to Rachel and grabbed her by the throat.

"I wasn't even here!" Rachel yelled.

Riley growled like an animal and threw Rachel across the room. John and Kyle had to jump out of the way. Rachel's body slammed into the wall, knocking a large hole into the drywall.

Riley grabbed Katrina by the shoulder, and the piercing ripping sound was all too familiar. I flinched. Katrina screamed out in pain and tried to escape her grasp.

Riley was holding the girl's right arm, detached from her body. But that apparently wasn't enough. Riley kicked Katrina in the side and grabbed her by the hair. She yanked, and there was another harsh rip as a big chunk of her hair tore out. Then she snapped the arm in half at the elbow and used it to slap her across the face—smack, smack, smack! It sounded like a hammer striking stone.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Riley screamed at us. "How can you all be so fucking stupid?" She made a grab for the blond kid whose name I didn't know, but he jumped out of the way.

"Do any of you have a brain?"

Riley punched a girl named Darcy into the entertainment center, smashing it, then caught another kid, Seth, and tore his ear off. She snarled again.

Riley took a deep breath, then tossed the ear at Seth. The guy licked the torn edge, coating it with venom so that it would reattach. There was no remedy for hair though. Katrina was going to have a bald spot.

"Listen up!" Riley said quietly through her clenched teeth. "All your lives depend on this… Something's coming… Something bigger than any of us alone. And if you can't get a grip, and act like you have a brain in your head, every last one of us, you and I alike, are all going to die. Just get your shit together for a few short days! Grow up and take some responsibility!"

Everyone sat wide-eyed, glancing around at each other. Even Florence looked at me, but I didn't meet her gaze. I was too focused on Riley in case she attacked again.

Riley threw the arm at Katrina. It smacked her in the stomach.

"Let me explain to you the situation we're all in. I'll try to keep it simple for you slow ones. Rachel, Kyle, come here."

They braced themselves, not moving toward her.

I expected Riley to go on a rampage again, but she just laughed. "Fine," she huffed. "We're going to need some new leaders that actually have some balls if we're going to survive. I suppose I was wrong about you two. Katrina, John, please join me as the heads of this team."

Katrina looked surprised. She'd just put her arm back together, but she was flattered nonetheless.

"You might be surprised to know that we have an enemy," Riley announced. I could tell the idea was shocking to a lot of them. Because the enemy was Rachel, or if you were in with her, the enemy was Kyle. The enemy was right here because nobody thought of anything else besides themselves.

"Some of you may be smart enough to have realized that if we exist, then hey, maybe other vampires do, too! … More talented, cunning vampires who want our blood!"

Several of Rachel's gang hissed.

"That's right," Riley said, seeming intent on egging them on. "Seattle was once theirs, you see. But they moved on a long time ago. And now that they know about what we're doing here, they're jealous of what we have, and they want it back. They know it's ours now, but they want to take it from us. They'll come for us… take you out one by one. We'll burn while they feast!"

"Never! We won't let that happen," Kyle growled.

"Now listen," Riley told us. "We don't have a lot of options. "If we wait for them to show up here, they will have the advantage. This is their turf after all. But they don't want to face us head-on. There are more of us, and we're stronger than they are. They're old and decrepit with age. They think they'll find us separated. They want to take advantage of our biggest weakness. Are any of you smart enough to know what that is?" She pointed at the ashes at her feet and waited.

Nobody said anything.

Riley scoffed. "Idiots!" she shouted. "It's unity! None of you have it! How can we be a united force that no one would dare fuck with when we fight and kill each other every day? What kind of team does that make us? I can just imagine them laughing at us every time they see the clouds of smoke rising up from wherever we're staying. They probably think taking the city back will be easy!"

Half the vampires in the room snarled in protest.

"Every time you kill someone, you're killing the ally who probably could have saved your ass in battle. Do we really want to hand it over to them like that? We're supposed to be a coven, not a bunch of individuals that need to be babysat all freaking day!"

Kyle and Rachel exchanged a glance as if they saw each other not as enemies for the first time. None of us had ever applied the term 'coven' to our group before.

"Allow me to tell you about the enemy," Riley went on. "They're old… weaker than we are. Their eyes have yellowed with age. But don't be fooled! They have advantages you'd never dream of. Think about it… they've been around hundreds of years, and they've only survived that long because they have skills. They think they can take us because of that. Because they can't see us as a unified force. They see us as a bunch of children who will do half the work for them! But together we will outnumber and crush them. So we're going to take the surprise route. We will ambush them in four days when they least expect it."

Four days? I guessed the creator didn't want to cut the deadline that close. I looked toward the door again. Where was Deena?

"I've saved the best part for last…" Riley added. "There are only eight of them."

There was a beat of incredulous silence.

Then Rachel said, "What?"

People started whispering amongst themselves.

"Eight?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Believe me," Riley said. "I wasn't fooling around when I said they were dangerous. They are wise and devious. They have ways of deception… mind tricks… but we will have power on our side. If we play it their way, they will win. But if we play by our rules…"

She trailed off, not finishing. She just smiled.

"Let's go now!" Rachel argued. "Why wait any longer?"

"Shut up, Rachel! Rushing into things blindly isn't going to help us win," Riley chided.

"Tell us what we need to know, then," Kyle encouraged.

"Okay…" Riley began. "Let's just say that you don't know shit about vampires yet. Not like you think you do. We have a little bit of experience with what we call 'talents.' We have Florence."

Everyone looked at Florence, or rather they attempted to. Riley even cringed and looked away quickly. I didn't feel anything, though.

"Ever notice how it hurts to look at… her? Talents are rare… maybe one percent of us. But everyone is different. There is a huge range of these talents out there, and some are much more powerful than others."

"This clan is full of talents, aren't they?" Kyle asked.

"That's correct," Riley smiled. "Dangerously talented. They have a mind reader, for starters."

She waited to look at everyone's reactions. She didn't seem to get the response she was looking for.

"Think about it, you idiots! Every single stupid thought in your head, she will know. She will see every move you're going to make. You go left, she'll be waiting."

There was a nervous stillness as everyone thought about this.

"They also have a future-seer. He's their best asset. That's why none of you, not even me, know their names or what they look like. That's what protects us. If they stumbled across any of you alone, they wouldn't realize you were connected to Him, and they might let you be. If they knew who had created you, there would be no questions asked. You'd be dead."

This was a load of bullshit. That made no sense to me. Wouldn't that be protecting Him? Protecting His Plan? More than it protected us?

"We will attack on their way into Seattle, and we will annihilate them. Done. And this city will be ours, and other covens in the area will know not to fuck with us. As much blood as you want, for everyone. You can hunt every night. We'll move right into the city, and we will rule it," she declared.

The growls and snarls were like applause. Everyone was all in. Except for me. I didn't make a sound. Neither did Florence, and who knew why that was?

Riley's promises sounded like a bunch of manipulative lies.

"That being said, I will not tolerate any more of the idiocy. No one is to harm anyone else from here on. And if you don't think you have to listen to me, you are wrong. You will learn how wrong you are when I take you to Him myself and hold you down while he tears off your legs and arms and slowly burns off every last one of your fingers, ears, lips, tongue, one by one… and finally, he will have your head."

Riley's face wasn't twisted with rage anymore, and what made her threat terrifying was the fact that she said it calmly and coldly. She smiled beautifully. I had the impression this was a new Riley. Something had changed her… hardened her.

"Katrina, John… make your groups. I will train you in two halves," Riley said.

Everyone started moving about the room, arguing with each other about who was sticking with who.

"Branden?" Riley said, squinting at me. It looked like this took some effort.

I felt like a block of ice. She had to have smelled my trail. I was dead.

"I promised Deena I'd give you a message. She said to tell you it was a ninja thing. Does that shit make any sense to you?"

"Deena?" I murmured.

"Can we talk?" Riley smiled, jerking her head toward the door. "I double-checked all the first floor doors and windows. It's totally dark and safe."

What had happened? Had Deena mentioned the sun thing? If she hadn't, what did that mean for her?

I followed Riley out of the room, keeping my head down. She gave Katrina and John a few instructions and then went up the stairs.

"You're brave," she said gently. She was actually being nice to me. "Or really trusting. I thought it would have been more difficult to get you upstairs with the sun up."

Whoops. I should have acted more afraid. Apparently, the sun charade was still being held up.

"You and Deena are pretty tight, right?" she asked.

I shrugged. "She saved my life."

Riley nodded. "She's the best. The brightest kid I've got."

I nodded once.

"We had a little talk about… the surveillance. She's the only one I trust with this. Going in blind is a bit too dangerous. I told her to scout ahead. I wish I had two of her! Deena said you were smart, too."

I waited, still trying to figure out how much of our story Riley knew.

"I need your help with Florence. Wow, that girl is strong! I couldn't even look at her. "

I nodded cautiously.

"Imagine if our enemies can't even look at us! It will be so easy," she laughed.

Honestly, Florence didn't seem like she cared much for this coven at all. And I could tell she was smart and independent. I couldn't imagine her out there in battle.

"You seem to spend a lot of time with her as well."

I shrugged. "We don't talk. No one bothers me when I'm near her."

Riley smiled. "Smart, like Deena said."

"Where is she?"

I shouldn't have asked. I could tell I sounded too worried.

"Since we don't have much time, I sent her in the enemy's direction. We'll need advance warning if they try anything before we do. She will meet up with us when we go to move against them."

I tried to imagine where Deena was. I wished that I could have gone with her. We could have so easily made our escape.

"Deena wanted me to tell you something."

My eyes snapped up to her face. Too fast… too eager.

"Sounded like nonsense to me… 'Tell Branden I've got the handshake figured out. I'll show him in four days when we meet up.' I have no idea what that means. Do you?"

I tried to keep my face uninterested. "Maybe. She did say something about needing a secret handshake. For her underwater cave. Some sort of password. She was just joking, though. I'm not sure what she means now."

Riley laughed. "Poor Deena."

"What?"

"I think that girl likes you a lot more than you like her."

"Oh." I looked away in confusion. Was Deena giving me some sort of message to let me know I should trust Riley? But obviously, she hadn't told her I knew about the sun. I thought it would be wiser to keep my mouth shut now. No more questions. Too much had changed.

"Don't blow her off so soon, kid. She's the best. Give her a chance."

Was Riley seriously giving me romantic advice? This couldn't be any weirder. I nodded my head. "Sure."

"Oh yeah, and, see if you can talk with Florence. Make sure she's on board."

I nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

Riley motioned for me to follow and then headed back to the basement. "It's training time."


	21. WHY HADN'T I JUST RUN AWAY?

18\. WHY HADN'T I JUST RUN AWAY?

It was such a convincing little speech; I almost didn't notice how blatantly obvious the manipulation was. It was battle day, and Riley was up on her soapbox again.

"There are so many things you don't know about vampires," Riley started. "And some of those things don't make much sense. This will be one of those things you won't understand, or even believe at first."

She deliberated a minute. "Four times a year… the sun shines at a specific, indirect angle. During that one day every few months, we can be outside during the day without being fried."

Everyone seemed to stop breathing. It was like Riley was talking to a bunch of statues.

"One of those days is beginning now. The sun rising today won't hurt any of us. And our enemies don't know that we know that. We're going to take this opportunity for the ambush."

So Riley knew about the sun all along… Or she didn't and was dumb enough to believe this 'four days' crap our creator had told her.

"I know, I know… The thought of is scary," Riley said to the statues. "This is the reason you're all still alive. You got home on time, you didn't make mistakes… But I do expect you to follow me out."

Her eyes watched the room, waiting for protests.

"Watch me," she said. "And you will see that it doesn't hurt. But don't freak when you see how I look in the sun. It will be intense, but it won't hurt you in any way."

She started up the stairs.

"Riley, can't we just wait until—" Kyle began.

"Just pay attention," Riley said. "This gives us the best advantage."

Riley opened the basement door and walked into the kitchen. There was no light in there, but everyone still shied away from the open doorway.

I felt Florence's eyes on me. I looked at her, and she was staring back at me urgently as if she wanted to take off. But there was nowhere she could go.

"It's okay," I whispered silently. "She's not making this up."

"You trust her?" she mouthed back at me.

"No way."

Florence raised an eyebrow and relaxed slightly.

"Okay, guys. I'm going out. You don't have to be afraid today. Trust me."

The light burst into the basement when the door opened, magnified by Riley's skin. The reflections danced along the walls.

Hissing and snarling erupted from all around me. People recoiled away from the light.

"Relax…" Riley called down to us. "I feel fine. No pain at all. Come and see. That's an order."

No one moved any closer to the door. Everyone looked terrified, and I realized now how silly I had looked to Deena.

"You know," Riley mused from above. "I'm curious to see who is the bravest of all you guys. I have a good idea who will be the first person through that door."

I rolled my eyes. Subtle.

"You can hear me. You know I'm not on fire. Don't be chicken shit! You're a vampire. Act like one!"

Still, no one could go any farther.

"Oh, for the love of Christ," Riley murmured. She stepped back in the door. "Look at me! I'm fine. Seriously! C'mere, Branden."

I slowly walked toward her, and she reached out and grabbed me, pulling me through the doorway. The light brightened everyone in the house when I was in the sun.

"Tell them, Branden," Riley ordered.

"It's okay, guys," I said, trying to act surprised.

Riley grabbed Katrina next. She flinched when the light hit her face.

"Tell them!"

"I'm okay, Rachel!" she called down. "Whoa… I'm all shiny! This is crazy!" She laughed.

That did it for Rachel. She started marching up the stairs, and she was soon up here glistening and laughing with Katrina.

It continued slowly, in a one-by-one fashion. Riley got impatient.

When Florence came outside, she looked at me warily. "You knew about this?" she mouthed.

I nodded.

We looked like a freak show. Shining, disco-ball vampires in the front yard. Florence and I stood a little bit separately from the rest. Everyone looked each other over, marveling at the shimmering. It took everyone a moment to realize this was it. It was time. They got quieter and fiercer then.

They seemed eager now. Being encouraged to rip and burn was almost as exciting to them as hunting.

Riley focused on the strategy she'd devised over the past three days. We would pinpoint the yellow-eyes' scent and then divide into two groups and come from opposite angles.

Riley began speaking again. "We leave now. You're strong, and you're ready. You're thirsty for it. You can feel the burn!"

And she was right. Everyone was full from feeding last night, but the bloodlust for the kill was showing up in everyone's eyes.

"They will be coming in slowly from the south," Riley said. "He has been monitoring them, so I will know where they are. He will meet us there with Deena. Then we will hit them like a tsunami. And then we will celebrate. Everyone, get focused!"

"We're ready!" Rachel shouted. Everyone screamed in assent like warriors.

"Let's take them down, kids!"

Florence didn't move, so I stayed with her. But I knew if we were going to get to Deena and pull her away before the fight, I would need to be near the front of the attack. I looked at them anxiously. I was still younger than a lot of them… faster.

"Riley won't be able to think of me for about twenty minutes or so," Florence told me. "I've been gauging the time. Even a good distance away, she'll feel sick if she tries to remember me."

"Really? That's cool."

Florence smiled. "I've been practicing. I can make myself totally invisible now. No one can look at me if I don't want them to."

"I've noticed," I said. "You're not going?"

Florence shook her head. "Of course not. It's obvious we're not being told what we need to know. I won't be someone's pawn."

So Florence had figured it all out on her own.

"I was going to run off sooner," she said. "But then I wanted to speak with you before I did, and there hasn't been a good time."

"I wanted to talk to you as well," I said. "I thought you should know that Riley's been lying the whole time about the sun. Those of us who have disappeared, like Shelly and Steve. They figured it out. And there's a lot more politics going on with this fight than she's leading on."

"Huh, I'm not surprised. I'm out. I'm going off on my own, to explore the world. Or you could come with me if you wanted. No one will follow us."

I shook my head. "Thanks, but I have to get to Deena."

"Well, you can always try to find me later. Sometimes numbers come in handy. Bring her with you."

"Yes," I agreed. "I will definitely do that. Where should I go?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Vancouver… at Riley Park. I'll wait there for twenty-four hours. But if you don't show, I'm gone. Good luck, Branden."

"Thanks, Florence! Good luck to you, too!"

I was already running.

I sprinted after the others, following the scent. I flew along faster than I'd ever run before. I was lucky that they must have paused for something… Probably for Riley to yell at them. Because I caught up with them faster than I should have.

I tried to slide into the group without drawing attention, but I saw Riley's head flip around once to zone in on me. Did she assume Florence was with me?

It wasn't five minutes later when everything changed.

Rachel caught the scent. With a wild growl, she was off. Riley had everyone so worked up that it only took the tiniest spark to set off an explosion. The others caught the scent too, and we were an army. It was a race for the kill.

Riley shouted orders. "Kyle, go around! Move around! Split off! John! Break off!" Her whole plan of the two-piece ambush was falling apart as we watched.

Riley sped up to the leading group and grabbed Seth's shoulder. "Go around!" she shouted. They came out of their focus long enough to realize they were supposed to be following strategy. Idiots.

"This way! Faster! I'm spear point with Rachel!"

I hesitated, still running forward. I didn't want to be any part of this 'spear point,' but Kyle's team was already running their way. I sprinted after Riley.

Riley ran ahead to Rachel's team. "I've got to help Kyle first. I'll meet you there!"

I jerked to a stop, frozen with uncertainty.

"Branden, I thought you were with Kyle."

I didn't respond.

"Are you… leaving us?" I asked.

Riley's face changed. It was like I could see her eyes shifting through the tactics.

"I'm worried, Branden. I told you that He was going to meet us and help, but I haven't seen Him. Something's wrong. I have to find Him."

"But Rachel will get there before you can find Him," I pointed out.

"I've gotta find out what's going on," she said. She actually sounded desperate. "I need Him."

"But the others…"

"Branden, I have to go find Him. Now! There are enough of you to overwhelm them. I'll get back as soon as I can."

I hesitated, looking back the way we'd come.

"Deena's down there, Bran," Riley said urgently. "She'll be in the first attack. Didn't you catch her scent back there? Did you not get close enough?"

I shook my head, totally confused.

"She's gotta be with Rachel by now. If you hurry, you can help her get out alive."

We stared at each other intensely for a long moment. Then I looked south at Rachel's path.

"Good boy," Riley said. "I'll go find him, and I will be back to help. You guys have got this! It will probably be over by the time you get there!"

She took off in a direction perpendicular to our original path. Riley never had any intention of fighting with us. Neither did He. She was lying to the end. She would go hide with Him and let us do all the work for them.

I still felt like I had no choice. I went south in a flat-out sprint again. I had to get to Deena. I would drag her away with me if I had to. There was no reason to help Riley anymore.

I found Rachel's scent, but not Deena's. Was I going too fast?

I didn't have much time to think about why I couldn't find her scent, because that's when the screeching and screaming and snarling started. And I knew the fight was happening. I ran faster. Maybe I could still save her.

I smelled the smoke. Already? The thick, sweet scent of burning vampire carried back to me in the wind. The sound of mayhem grew louder. Maybe they were almost done. Would I find our coven victorious and Deena waiting for me?

I dashed through a heavy blanket of smoke only to find myself out of the forest in a grassy field.

I hopped over a rock, only to realize as I flew past it that it was a headless torso.

My eyes scanned the field. There were pieces of bodies everywhere, and a huge bonfire smoking purple into the sunny sky. Out from under the billowing haze, I could see the glittering bodies darting and grappling as the sound of vampires being torn apart went on and on.

I looked for one thing only: Deena's black hair. No one I could see had hair that dark. There was one huge vampire girl with brown hair that was almost black, but she was too big, and I watched as the unfamiliar girl tore Katrina's head off and pitched it into the fire. Then she leaped onto someone's back. Was that John?

I scanned quickly again. I felt horribly exposed. I took in the faces. There weren't really enough vampires here, even counting those that were down. There must have been a lot of them torched already. Most of the vampires still standing were strangers. A blond vampire glanced at me, and her eyes flashed gold in the sunlight.

We were losing. Badly.

I started to back away toward the trees, still looking for Deena. She wasn't here. There was no sign she had ever been here. No scent in the mix of all our side and the strangers. I even looked at the pieces. I would have recognized just a finger.

I turned and really made a break for the trees, suddenly aware that Riley had most likely been lying about Deena.

And that probably meant she was already dead. I was about to die, too. I should have known it from the moment she hadn't come back with Riley.

Then I recalled Riley's words that night. 'I will take you to him myself and hold you down while he tears off your legs and arms and slowly burns off every last one of your fingers, ears, lips, tongue, one by one… and finally, he will have your head.'

Such a specifically detailed description… I realized now this was because she was describing something she had just seen. What happened to Deena. That's why her whole attitude changed that night. She'd lost trust in her favorite.

I was a few feet into the trees when a force like a wrecking ball hit me from behind and knocked me down.

An arm slipped under my chin.

"Please!" I cried out. And what I meant was, 'Please kill me quickly.'

And the arm hesitated. I didn't fight it, though my instincts urged me to bite and tear and rip the arm apart. But I knew I'd never win. Another one would just finish me off.

Riley lied about these 'weak' vampires, too. We'd never had a chance. And with Deena gone, that really sucked out whatever fight was left in me. She could have my head for all I cared.

The arm spun me around, and the blond vampire was staring intensely at me, her body ready to spring. She looked very capable, much more experienced than even Riley. But she didn't look crazy like Rachel or Kyle. She looked totally in control.

"Please," I said again. "I don't want to fight."

She still held herself in a ready position, her face changed. Though, she looked at me in a way I couldn't understand. Empathy? Pity, at least.

"Neither do I, child," she said in a calm, mother-like voice. "We are only defending ourselves."

There was such an honesty in her voice, I felt… guilty. Maybe this coven had never planned to attack us at all. How could I believe any part of what I'd been told? These strange, golden-golden eyed vampires were probably the 'threat' that never was and never would be.

"We didn't know," I explained. I felt ashamed. "Riley lied. I'm so sorry."

She listened for a moment, and I realized that the battlefield was quiet. It was over.

If I'd been in any doubt of who the winner was, that doubt was gone now. A man with wavy brown hair and the same golden eyes approached us. He looked just as calm.

"Carine?" he asked in a confused voice as he stared at me.

"He doesn't want to fight," she told him.

The man touched her arm. "He's so frightened, Carine. Shouldn't we…"

The blonde, Carine, glanced back at him and then straightened out of her crouch. But she still looked wary.

"Don't worry. We have no wish to harm you," the man said to me. He had a soft, caring voice. "We didn't want any of this."

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

I couldn't make sense of all the mess in my head. Deena was probably dead, and that was the devastating thing. Other than that, the fight was over, and everyone else was dead, too. And here were my 'enemies' speaking to me like they wanted to be my friend.

"Child," Carine said, "will you surrender to us?"

"Yes," I resigned.

She held out her hand. "Come, then. Let our family regroup for a moment, then we will have some questions for you. If you are totally honest with us, you have nothing to be afraid of."

I got up slowly, making no movement that would be considered threatening.

"Carine?" a female voice asked.

And then another one of the yellow eyes joined us. Any sort of safety I'd felt vanished when I saw her. She was a blonde, like the first, but taller and leaner. Her skin was covered in scars, tons of which were concentrated on her neck and face. A few were fresh from today, but most were old. She'd been in more fights than any of my idiots ever had. And she'd never lost.

As soon as she saw me, she coiled to spring.

"Jessamine!" Carine shouted.

Jessamine pulled up short and stared in disbelief at Carine. "What's going on?"

"He has surrendered."

"Carine, I…" She hesitated for a moment. "I'm sorry, but we can't. When the Volturi come, we can't be associated with any of these newborns."

I didn't understand what she was saying, but I got that she wanted to kill me.

"Jess, he's only a child," the man protested. "We can't just murder him without him provoking us."

It was strange to hear him speak like we were people, and murder was a bad thing. An avoidable thing.

"It's our family on the line here, Earnest. We can't afford to have them think we broke this rule."

The man, Earnest, walked between Jessamine and me.

"No. I won't stand for it."

Carine looked at me anxiously. I could see that she cared a lot for this man. I would have looked the same way at Deena. I tried to look docile.

"Jess, I think we have to take the chance," Carine said.

She led me closer to the flames, so close I could feel the smoke against my skin.

"Sit here. Don't make a single move," the woman commanded.

I kept very still and tried to look harmless, but I could feel the girl's glare on me, and it made me feel agitated.

And then there was screaming somewhere across the field.

I heard shouting and a strange, savage howling. It was loud, and there was a lot of it. I couldn't imagine how a face would have to contort to create such a noise. These yellow-eyed vampires were so different.

The sound of wolf-like yelping tapered off until it was just one voice, one agonized, inhuman yowling that made me grit my teeth. I imagined Deena screaming as she was ripped apart. I covered my ears.

I heard Carine rush toward the screaming, through the smoke that obscured them from view. "Please let me take a look. Please let me help." I didn't hear anyone arguing with her, but for some reason, it sounded like she was losing a dispute.

And then I listened harder. There were a dozen deep, thumping noises. Almost like… heartbeats. But definitely not human hearts. I sniffed, but the wind was at my back. All I could smell was the smoke.

It was quieter for a few minutes. I heard some low voices, Carine and Earnest among them, but others I didn't know. I wished I could see. The blindness from all the smoke of the fire next to me irritated me badly.

There was one voice, louder than the rest that I could hear most easily. "Another five minutes," he said.

I tried to make sense of this.

Close by, Jessamine was frowning. Her teeth were gritted together as she looked at me… frightened. Not like, scared of me, but like she was scared because of me. I remembered what she said about 'Volturi.' I wondered what a Volturi was. What would a scarred up, dangerous vampire be afraid of?

I was starting to hope those black-cloaked vampires had something to do with it, and that they'd catch up to Riley and make her suffer.

A vampire with beautiful, almost red hair met my eyes with a fierce warning glare, and I knew I would die if I tried anything on this girl.

My eyes popped. She was the most beautiful vampire I'd ever seen. Even more beautiful than Riley.

"They are coming to the north end of the clearing now," the shortest guy said.

They? I glanced to the north, but all I could see was the smoke. Was he talking about Riley and the creator? I felt the panic rush through me, but then I relaxed. There was no way He and Riley could stand against these vampires.

Or did he mean this mysterious Volturi?

Then Carine and Jessamine backed away from the fire, and from me, joining ranks with the others. There were staring through the smoke expectantly, I huddled tighter to the smoke in spite of the flames. Should I make a run for it? Where would I go?

"Hmm," a dead voice said from behind the smoke.

In that one syllable, I knew exactly who this was. I wanted to bolt.

It was the dark-cloaks after all.

What did that mean? Would another battle begin now? I knew that they'd wanted my creator to succeed in his plans. But he had clearly failed. Did that mean they would kill them?

The dark-cloaks ghosted through the smoke into view. None of them looked in my direction. I held absolutely still.

There were four of them, the same as before. There was something to them more than what I could see. I could feel it. These were punishers. They didn't come to seek and destroy.

"Welcome, Jasen," said the red-haired girl.

So they knew each other. The redhead's voice was not friendly, but it wasn't weak like my creator's had been. Her voice was cold but polite. Were the dark cloaks the Volturi then?

The small vampire boy who led the group, Jasen, slowly scanned across the seven yellow eyes, and then slowly turned toward me. I glimpsed his face for the first time. He was younger than me but much older, too, I guessed. His eyes were the color of dark red roses. I put my head down.

"I don't get it." Jasen's dead voice betrayed a hint of annoyance.

"He surrendered," the redhead explained.

"Surrendered?" Jasen snapped.

I peeked up to see the cloaks exchanging glances.

"Carine gave him the option," the redhead said. She seemed to be the spokesperson for the yellow eyes.

"There are no options for those who break the rules," Jasen said.

I felt like ice. But for some reason, I couldn't feel the panic I should have. It was like I'd been stripped of all emotion. I guess death was just inevitable now.

"That's in your hands," Carine said in a soft voice. "As long as he was willing to stop his attack on us, I saw no need to destroy him. He was never taught."

Though the words were neutral, I almost thought she was pleading for me.

"That is irrelevant," Jasen confirmed.

"As you wish."

"Sulpicia hoped that we would get far enough west to see you, Carine," he said. "She sends her regards."

"I would appreciate it if you would convey mine to her," she answered.

Jasen smiled. "Certainly." Then he looked at me again, and the corners of his mouth were still pointed up in a smile. "It appears the Cullens have done our work for us today. Just out of curiosity, how many of you were there? You left quite a debacle in Seattle."

I was right. His job was punishment. And if there were punishers, there had to be rules. Riley and the creator had been afraid, but not exactly surprised by the arrival of these Volturi vampires. They knew about the laws, and they knew they were breaking them. Why hadn't they told us?

And there were more Volturi than just these four. Probably a lot more, I guessed.

Carine answered the question for me. "Eighteen, including this one."

"Eighteen?" Jasen repeated. He sounded surprised.

"All brand new," Carine said. "They were unskilled."

Unskilled, stupid, uninformed… thanks to Riley.

"All?" Jasen asked. "Then who was the creator?"

As if they hadn't already been introduced. This Jasen was a bigger liar than Riley.

"His name is Victor," the redhead answered.

How did she know that when I didn't? I remembered that Riley had said there was a mind reader in this group. Was that how they knew everything?

"And where is he now?"

"He evaded us when he realized his attack was unsuccessful," the redhead answered.

Jasen looked at me. "You there. Your name?"

I was dead anyway, according to him, so why give him anything he wanted? I just glared at him.

Jasen smiled at me with a bright, happy smile like an innocent child.

And suddenly, I was on fire.

I'd gone back to the night Riley had found me. The same fire was in every cell of my body again, coursing through my veins and turning my skin to ash. It felt like I'd been thrown into the bonfire whole. It was the worst agony imaginable. I could barely hear myself screaming the pain was so intense in my ears.

"Your name!" Jasen said again, and as he spoke the fire disappeared instantaneously. It was gone like I'd only imagined it. I looked at my arms, expecting to find charred limbs. Nothing was wrong with them.

"Branden," I said as fast as I could, still gasping from the pain that was gone.

Jasen smiled again, and the fire was everywhere. Where was it coming from? How much pain would it take before I died of it? The screams didn't even feel like they were coming from me anymore. Why couldn't someone just rip my head off? Carine was kind enough for that, wasn't she? Someone needed to make this stop.

"He'll tell you anything you want to know!" Earnest pleaded. "You don't have to do that."

The pain vanished like Jasen had turned off a pain switch. I was face down on the ground, panting like I needed the air.

"Oh, I know," I heard the boy say cheerfully. "Branden?"

I shuddered when he said my name. "Is this story true?" he asked. "Were there eighteen of you?"

The words rushed out of my mouth. "Twenty-two or so, I don't know! Some killed each other before we got here. Some went missing."

I waited for the pain to hit me again for not having a better answer, but it didn't come.

"And this Victor, did he create you?"

"I think so," I admitted. "Riley never said his name. I didn't see anything that night… It was all so dark, and it hurt! She didn't want us to think of him. She said our thoughts weren't safe."

Jasen glanced at the redhead, then looked at me again.

"Tell me about this Riley," Jasen said. "Why did she bring you here?"

I recited all of Riley's lies as quickly as I could. "Riley told us that we had to destroy some yellow-eyed vampires who wanted to kill us. She said it would be easy, and that Seattle would be ours once they were gone."

"Well, it looks like Riley was wrong about the easy part," Jasen laughed. "And where is Riley now?"

The redhead tilted her head back in the direction of the mountain behind her. A small, black-smoke pillar stood out against the snow. She'd killed her.

I was starting to like this girl a lot more now.

It seemed like Jasen was pleased with my story. And I realized it was because he now knew Riley had kept us in the dark. That I shouldn't know about their visit the other night. Which would keep that conversation a secret from the yellow-eyes. Something he didn't want them to know. He secretly hated them. But wouldn't the mind reader know that?

"So you believe you are innocent?" Jasen asked me.

"That one said I wouldn't be hurt if I stopped." I pointed at Carine.

"Ah, but that wasn't her gift to offer…" He sounded like he was enjoying himself. "Broken rules demand consequence."

Jasen looked at Carine. "Are you sure you got them all?"

Carine nodded. "We split up like they did."

"I can't deny that I'm impressed," Jasen mused. "It isn't often a coven escapes an assault of this magnitude. Especially not fully intact. Do you know the motive behind it? Such extreme behavior."

"Vengeance," the redhead told him. "Victor's mate tried to kill mine, and we took her out."

Seriously? That was it? All for avenging the murder of one person?

Jasen laughed happily. "Yes, Sulpicia was quite pleased to hear about your new member. She sends her congratulations."

The redhead nodded once.

"But he is not with you today?" Jasen smiled.

"He's new," the redhead said quickly. "I wanted him to sit this one out."

Jasen nodded. "Pity. I would have loved to have met the new Cullen. Well, it appears there is nothing left for us to do," he said in his monotone. "It isn't often we're rendered unnecessary. It seems we missed the most entertaining of fights."

"Yes," said the redhead. "It's a shame you hadn't arrived just ten minutes earlier. Perhaps you would have fulfilled your duties."

I fought a smile. So the redhead was the mind reader. Little Jasen wasn't going to get away with it.

"Yes. Quite a pity how things turned out…" There was a warning glance in Jasen's eyes.

Then he turned back to me. "Ohhh, yes… the child."

I realized at this moment that my time had run out.

At least Riley had met her demise too. It was some small consolation for it all.

I silently thanked the mind reader in my head.

"Felizia?" Jasen said lazily.

"Wait!" the mind reader said.

"We could explain the rules to this young one. He doesn't seem unwilling to learn. He didn't know what he was doing. This isn't his fault."

"Of course," Carine said eagerly. "We would certainly be glad to take responsibility for Branden."

Jasen's face looked like he was expecting them to admit they were joking. But they weren't joking.

I couldn't believe it either. How could these vampires be so kind and compassionate to a total stranger?

"I doubt that," Jasen sighed. "I should remind you that the rules state the perpetrator, as well as those responsible for him, shall be punished alike. We don't make exceptions. Don't worry, though. We have Alexandra's mercy."

Carine was silent for a moment. "As you wish."

"It was nice to meet you, Carine… I'd thought Sulpicia was exaggerating. Well, until we meet again…"

This would be the end for me. But I didn't feel afraid. My only regret was not running off with Florence. There was so much I could have told her. Things she needed to know. The world was full of danger and politics and dirty cops. But would they be able to find her? Could they even look at her? Then I realized the mind reader would know what I was thinking.

Please don't let them find her.

"Take care of that, sister," Jasen said indifferently, nodding in my direction. "I want to go home."

One of the Volturi cloaks held her hands forward, and a wispy, grey smoke crept outward from them, swirling its way towards me.

Before it could reach me, I closed my eyes.

Then there was nothing.

-END OF PART TWO-


	22. SHOWDOWN

**BOOK THREE**

 _BEAU_

 _Life and Death have been in love_

 _for longer than we have words to describe._

 _Life sends countless gifts to Death,_

 _and Death keeps them forever._

19\. SHOWDOWN

The icy wind shook the tent again as the storm picked up. I could tell the temperature was plummeting as the weather raged on through the night. Luca was sound asleep, fully dressed, wrapped like a burrito in a sleeping bag. Even as the cold continued to plunge further, he never seemed to notice it. I kept worrying that he was going to freeze to death out here, and he probably would have if he weren't so abnormally warm. But I could feel the heat radiating off his body; it never seemed to drop.

The blizzard howled loudly now as it attacked the tent. Sarah Clearwater was outside in the cold, but Edythe assured me over and over she wasn't bothered by it either. The wolves were covered in thick fur that worked better against the cold than any parka.

When day broke, there was a lot less snow than I was anticipating. I bet it had mostly blown away in the wind, never getting a chance to stick very well. It was odd how dead calm the air was now as the sun climbed higher.

Sarah was still curled up in the snow, her head resting on her paws. Her sand-colored fur almost matched the dead pine needles all around her.

Soon, dozens of bloodthirsty newborns would be tearing into the baseball clearing miles below us at the base of the mountain, and here I was, doing absolutely nothing to help.

I started walking toward the trees absentmindedly, and the sun reflected off my skin in glittering rainbows that danced on the snow ahead of me. Edythe didn't reach out to stop me until was several paces into the shadows of the forest.

"You can't go down there, Beau. I don't want you involved in hand-to-hand combat situation until you're more experienced. Besides, it's almost time. It would probably be over by the time you got there," Edythe said.

Before I could answer, Sarah whined and got to her feet. Her nose pointed to our west, and she began to whimper.

"What is it? Is it the others, Sarah?" I demanded. "Are the newborns in the clearing?"

Edythe sighed. "It's going to be fine, Beau. We've got skill, training, and surprise on our side. It will be so easy. If I didn't believe that myself, we would be down there now—and Luca would be hidden away in La Push somewhere."

"I just can't help but think this is because of me… and I'm stuck here doing nothing to help," I thought out loud.

She chuckled. "It isn't your fault our enemies are so stupidly vindictive. Besides, no one is going to be hurt. We have nine giant wolves. No one could touch Archie if they wanted to. Jessamine has decades of battle time. Carine and Earnest have a lifetime of experience. And Eleanor and Royal are so intimidating, the newborns will probably run screaming."

Sarah yelped softly once, and then her ears laid back as she whined again.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" I asked.

"She's just angry that she's stuck here with us," Edythe said with a laugh.

"Do you hear the newborns yet?"

Edythe shook her head. "I don't, but the rest of the pack can. That's what Sarah noticed. The newborns have apparently reached the end of that trail. It worked like a charm. Jess is a genius, and they've caught the scent of the others waiting in the clearing, so they're splitting up now. Just like Archie said."

There was a moment of silence as Edythe had her eyes focused on something far away. "Sam will be taking a few around to head off the ambush."

Sarah's teeth locked together.

"The first group is in the clearing. Don't you hear it?"

I straightened up anxiously. I was just beginning to hear the shouting in the distance, accompanied by a horrible, ripping sound that cut through the noise intermittently.

Edythe chuckled. "Eleanor is definitely enjoying herself."

I sighed with relief.

"The others are getting ready. They aren't paying attention, though." Edythe said, then she scoffed.

"What?"

"They're talking about you. They were instructed to make sure you don't escape… Oh, wow. Nice move, Lee… He's quite fast," she murmured in approval. "One of the newborns noticed our scent, and Lee took her down before she could even turn around. Paula and Julie got another one. They have no idea what to make of the wolves."

Edythe's face dropped, then there was a sudden absence of sound. It was the only warning.

Edythe and Sarah were both frozen.

No… no, no, no.

Who was it? One of the wolves? One of us? Please, no…

So suddenly that it startled me, Edythe was rushing over to the tent, hurriedly pulling Luca from his sleeping bag…

I blinked in shock. Edythe and Sarah stared at each other intensely just inches apart for a long second. The sun shattered off her skin and scattered light across the big wolf's fur.

"Sarah, go!" Edythe whispered urgently.

Sarah disappeared into the forest in two long leaps.

Before I could even get a word out, Edythe was shoving Luca up against me. He hadn't even had time to fully awaken yet. His eyes blinked groggily with sleep.

Relief washed through me when I realized the danger wasn't down there in the clearing. No one had been hurt.

The short reprieve lasted only a second, as my stomach dropped through the floor when it occurred to me the threat must have been right here.

Edythe was fiercely yanking at my arm, pulling us over to the sheer cliff face.

"Keep him behind you. No matter what," she said sternly.

I'd definitely misunderstood.

I realized it then when I caught the scent. Two unfamiliar vampires… I was just beginning to make out their faint footsteps in the snow.

They were coming for _us_.

Edythe held a defensive position in front of us, halfway in a crouch.

Luca nudged in closer to me from behind, hiding his face in my shirt.

"Who is it?" I demanded.

The words came through her teeth with a hatred I hadn't been expecting, and louder than I had expected, too, meaning it was too late to run.

"Victor…" She spat the word out like it was a curse. "He isn't alone. They crossed our scent. He never meant to fight with the newborns… Just watch. But then he made the spur-of-the-moment decision to find me. And he was right. He knew you'd be with me. _You_ were right. It was always Victor."

Son of a _bitch_ … And now Victor was apparently close enough for Edythe to hear his thoughts.

In no time, the two vampires edged slowly into the small opening of the camp, glistening like diamonds in the sun. Edythe's body shifted infinitesimally.

The blonde girl—young and thin, maybe my age, with vivid red eyes like mine had been not too long ago—stared at me intently. But I couldn't watch her.

Because right at her side, Victor was also staring at me.

His red hair was instantly recognizable from what I'd seen when he'd come to spy on us. It was like a bright flame. His eyes were black as night, and he did not smile with the vengeance I had always imagined. His lips were pressed into a tight line. There was an odd feline quality to the way he held himself, like a lion waiting to attack. His restless gaze flickered between Edythe and me.

But he could never keep his eyes focused on either of us for a half second, and I could imagine it was because of the thing he hadn't been expecting… clutching tightly to my backside. I couldn't imagine what he would make of this strange, not-so-human boy behind me.

The tension that rolled off him was almost visible in the air. I could sense the all-consuming passion of hatred that held its grip on him.

He was so close to what he wanted—the focus of his existence for all these past months was just so close now.

Our deaths.

His plan was as obvious as it was practical. Victor would kill Edythe's mate, given she had killed his. The blonde girl would distract Edythe, and as soon as she was sufficiently preoccupied, Victor would come at me. And I barely knew how to protect myself, let alone the helpless child behind me.

A vast distance away, from far across the black forest, a wolf's howl echoed through the still air.

The blonde girl looked at Victor from the corner of her eye, waiting on his command.

She was young in more ways than one. I guessed from her brilliant crimson irises that she couldn't be very old. She would be strong, but inept. Edythe would know what to do. Edythe would win. But did I know what to do? I'd never had to deal with a physical altercation before. Especially not against someone who was so… motivated.

Victor jerked his chin toward Edythe, wordlessly ordering the girl forward.

"Riley," Edythe said in her softest, pleading tone.

The girl froze, and her eyes widened at her name being called by a total stranger.

"He's lying to you," Edythe told her. "Please listen to what I'm saying. He's lying, just like he had you lie to all the others who are now dying out there. Do you really think he hasn't lied to you, too?"

Confusion swept across Riley's face.

Edythe shifted a few inches to the side, and Riley automatically compensated with an adjustment of her own.

"He doesn't love you. He never has. He loved someone named Joss, and you're nothing but a tool to him. That's what all this is about. It's all for vengeance."

When Edythe said Joss' name, Victor's lips pulled back to show his teeth. He sucked in a sharp breath.

Riley looked at him for direction, and Edythe continued.

"He knows I'll kill you, Riley. He wants you to die so that he doesn't have to keep up with you anymore. You've seen that, haven't you? You've seen that reluctance in his eyes. There was always that false note in his promises. You were right. Every bit of it was a lie."

I watched it sink in on the girl's face as Edythe decoded her thoughts.

Edythe moved again, a few inches toward the girl, a few inches away from me. Instinctively, I started to move with her, but then I remembered Luca.

"You don't have to die, though. There are other ways to live than be a slave to someone else. Life isn't all lies and blood. You can walk away right now."

Edythe slid her feet forward and to the side. There was a foot of space between us now. Riley circled too far, overcompensating this time. Victor leaned forward onto the balls of his feet.

"Last chance!" Edythe warned.

Riley looked torn as she searched Victor's face for answers.

"She's the liar, Riley," Victor said suddenly, and my mouth fell open in shock at the way his voice sounded. It was so soft and high, like a little kid. It was the voice of an innocent child. It made no sense coming from this man. "I warned you about their mind tricks. You know I love you."

Riley's jaw tightened, and her resolve returned. There was no more confusion now. She tensed up for the attack.

Victor's body seemed to be trembling, he was so tightly wound. His fingers were ready claws, waiting for Edythe to move just one more inch away from me.

Riley was abruptly flying across the campsite as she flung herself at Edythe, landing a kick into her shoulder. I heard the crunch of the impact, and then it was like they were dancing.

They weren't quite circling, because Edythe wasn't allowing her to get any closer to us. She swayed back, moving side to side to try and find a hole in the defense. Edythe always moved a fraction of a second before she did, reading the intentions in her thoughts.

Edythe lunged into Riley from the side, and there was a hideous, grating screech. A white chunk of flesh flew into the forest. Riley roared in fury and skipped back.

Victor was torn, glancing back and forth between the squabble and me. He kept looking at me as if I were a magnet pulling him in. I could see his survival instinct whirring with his desire for revenge.

I had to think fast, or one or both of us were going to get killed. I pulled Luca onto my back and jumped as high as I could manage, straight up the cliff face. I grabbed onto the rock with what little purchase I could find. I climbed with him all the way to the top, where I stuck him behind a huge hemlock.

I whispered to him in a rush of words. "Luca, whenever I tell you to run, I need you to _run_ as fast as you can. Don't look back, and don't stop until one of us or the wolves find you."

His face was totally white with shock, and his eyes pleaded me not to leave him. But I didn't wait for him to answer. I was back on the ground below in an instant.

I watched Victor with his back to me, honing in on Edythe, preparing to double-team her. "I'm right here, Victor!" I shouted. "You won't get a chance like this again!"

He showed his teeth at me and hissed.

I laughed tauntingly.

A snarl ripped from between his lips.

Victor darted out of the trees and made a giant leap toward me.

But Edythe was suddenly sailing through the air, intercepting him in a high arc overhead. They collided with a loud thud.

I took my opportunity and rushed over to Riley. She was twitching as if she was trying to shake off pain. Then I noticed she was missing one arm.

I slammed hard into her, and we slid several feet across the snow. I had her in a headlock as she tried grasping at me with her one hand, but I had her too easily restrained. I looked to my right where Victor was feinting back away from Edythe.

"No, look at him more closely," Edythe murmured, answering an unspoken thought. "Is he really so much like the child you saw all those centuries ago?"

She was throwing out a distraction.

His eyes popped wide open and then began flickering wildly from Edythe to Luca to me, around and around.

"Not the same?" he snarled in his small voice like he thought Edythe was crazy. "Impossible!"

"Nothing is impossible," Edythe answered. "Except what you want. You'll never touch him. You'll never even touch Beau."

He jerked his head fast to the side, fighting her diversions, and tried to duck around her, but she was in place to block him as soon as he'd thought of the plan. His face contorted in frustration. He was no inexperienced newborn, though. He was lethal. I could tell the difference easily between him and this girl.

Edythe shifted, too as they closed on each other, and it was lion versus lioness. The dance increased in tempo. It was like Archie and Jessamine in the meadow, a blurred spiraling of movement, only this dance was not as perfectly choreographed.

Sharp crunches and crackling reverberated off the cliff face whenever someone slipped in their formation.

Riley was distracted by the violent ballet, her eyes anxious for her partner. I took her head in my hands and shoved her into the rock of the cliff face, and there was a crunch as her skull impacted. Riley screamed and launched a rear kick that caught me in the chest. It knocked me back quite a bit, and I ducked out of the way as she soared through the air at me.

But then she caught me by the shoulder, and in a move so fast it was like lightning, she was suddenly on top of me, trying to grasp ahold of my face with her one hand.

I reached up and grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked, driving both of us down into the snow.

I was disoriented by all the white flying up like dust around us, and then she was so fast, she was on top of me, her knees pinning my shoulders down. I looked, and a big chunk of her hair was still in my hand. I tossed it down and grunted, trying to shove her off me. She grabbed me by the throat with her remaining hand.

Then out of nowhere, I heard her gasp. "Vic… Help! I can't see!"

She was clutching the side of her head now with the one hand. Her eyes stared off blankly at nothing.

I turned my head to see Victor making the same blank expression.

The heat of the fight jolted through my veins. It was the truest instinct of our kind—the lust to kill anyone who got in your way.

I grabbed the first thing I could get ahold of and yanked, which was Riley's remaining arm. I bit down hard into her wrist, and there was a metallic tear as I ripped a chunk of flesh from her arm.

Victor was distracted by the sound of the girl's gasp. He seemed to snap out of the odd trance, and his eyes met hers for a split second. And that was all Edythe needed. Edythe flung him into the air, and he smashed into a tall spruce about halfway up the tree, catching himself there.

Edythe was at my side a moment later and was suddenly twisting Riley's arm backward. At the same time, I pushed the girls head down into the snow as Edythe yanked backward. There was a loud popping sound as her left arm separated from her body. Edythe flung it at Victor.

Riley's shriek of agony distracted Victor a second longer, and then his gaze shifted upward to the peak of the cliff face. He coiled and sprang. I could see Luca hiding behind the same tree I'd left him behind.

"Run!" I shouted at him.

And then I realized what had distracted them… why they seemed to lose their sight for a few seconds.

Luca.

Had he just projected images at them from afar?

Riley's body was gone suddenly from under me, and something large was whistling through the air. It collided with Victor mid-flight. The impact sounded like an explosion, and it slammed him into the rocky cliff face. He landed on his feet on the ground below, and a half-second later, Riley's headless body flopped into the snow beside him.

"No…" was all he managed to whisper.

The fingers of one of Riley's arms were twitching, grasping at the snow. I grabbed it and threw it as far as I could into the forest.

Victor tensed to run from the scene.

"No!" Edythe begged seductively. "Just stay a little bit longer, won't you? We just got started!"

Victor took one more look up at Luca above the cliff, then he wheeled like the coward he was and flew toward the forest like an arrow from a bow.

"Dammit," she cursed.

I darted up the cliff face to retrieve Luca.

His breathing was fast and labored, and he was focused horrifically at the sight down below.

"I'm scared," he whispered.

"Don't be," I assured him as I lifted him up onto my shoulders. "It's over now. You're safe."

But I realized then that he wasn't afraid of our foes. He was scared of Edythe and me, the ones he had just seen rip apart a fully sentient creature.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," I said quickly. "But how did you…? Did you… _show_ them something?"

"Blackness…" he said, his voice trembling. "I… I don't know how I did that. I just saw that you needed help… and it happened."

Edythe ran up to us, putting a hand on Luca's shoulder. "Come on. He doesn't need to see this."

I looked down at Riley's headless body as it twitched, her legs flailing around wildly.

I pulled Luca away, taking him down to the tent and stuck him inside so he wouldn't see what would come next. "Just stay in here for a minute."

Edythe stood above Riley, and in one last move, it was all over for the girl. A flaming zippo dropped from Edythe's hand onto Riley's body, and she instantly burst into flames like she'd been doused in gasoline.

I ran into the forest, grabbing more pieces. They were rough and jagged at the edges, like pieces of broken statues. But inside of them, rather than what I would have expected, there was nothing but a white crystalline substance. It was as if the pieces were made of diamond. The serrated ends were wet with a thick fluid that seemed to be leaking from them like sap from a broken tree limb—the vampire's own version of blood.

The flames licked higher as I added my burden to the fire.

I only fully understood then why fire was the only means by which vampires could be destroyed completely. Clearly, we were extremely flammable.

The thick smoke curled up slowly, looking more solid than it should. It smelled odd, like burning incense, and the scent was uncomfortable. It was heavy, too sweet… too strong.

Sarah came running back now, and she made a gruff chittering sound deep in her chest, and a smile flickered across Edythe's tense face. It was finally over.

Edythe chuckled. "Nice teamwork… Looks like Luca was even able to assist."

"The others?" I asked immediately. "Archie, Earnest? The wolves?"

"All fine. It's over down there. It went just as smoothly as I promised."

I let the relief wash through me, reveling in it for a moment.

Then from far away, a wolf howled. But this wasn't a normal howl.

And then Edythe gasped. "No!" One of her hands reached out as if to grab something. "Don't!"

A spasm rocked through Sarah's body, and a howl full of the same agony I'd heard before erupted from her body.

Edythe gripped the sides of her head suddenly, and her face was twisted in pain.

"Edythe!" I shouted. " _Edythe!_ "

Her eyes refocused as she looked at me.

"It's okay," she sighed. "I thought…"

Sarah took off in the direction of the horrific yowling.

"She's going to be fine."

"What's happening?" I demanded.

"She's going to be okay. Carine is helping her now."

"Who, Edythe?"

"Julie."

My face went black. "What do you mean? Was she hurt?!"

"Yes, Beau. But trust me. She will heal."

Edythe tensed up again, her body straightening out.

"I have to go back to the clearing, Beau," she told me in a low voice. "We knew there was a good probability of this happening. Take Luca and go straight home! Now. As fast as you can! Wait for us there. Ati's family might be gone when you get there."

"Tell me what it is, dammit!" I shouted.

"The Volturi decided to step in," she said. "Don't panic, though. We will talk to them. Just get out of here!"

I felt totally disconnected from everything. Like I was trapped in my body, no longer able to access the controls. I couldn't even think.

I was able to nod once.

Julie.

No, no, no, no… Not her… And the _Volturi._


	23. VISIONS

20\. VISIONS

"She is going to heal, Beau. I don't even need to see the future to know that," Archie reassured me.

I had slipped off the edge I was clinging to inside of my head. It was all just too much. My brain didn't want to make sense of the words. It was pretending it couldn't understand. Everything went blank inside my head. I couldn't move, couldn't speak until they came back home.

"Edythe, please tell me she'll be okay," I pleaded.

"Yes, she's fine. I promise," she answered.

"I looked her over myself," Carine told me then. Her face was serious yet reassuring at the same time. I couldn't doubt her. "Her injuries are not life-threatening. She's healing at a miraculous rate. Though, I'm afraid the damage was extensive enough that recovery may take several days. But she should be back to normal. I will do what I can to help her. I do hope Samantha can convince her to phase back to human form… I've never been to veterinary school."

"What the hell happened?" I demanded. "How badly is she hurt?"

"Another wolf… Lee… He was in trouble. Julie knocked him out of the way, but she didn't have time to cover her own back. The newborn got her arms around her and tried to crush her. The bones on the right half of her body are shattered."

I winced.

"She was already improving when they took her back to La Push."

"She'll be okay, right? There wasn't any permanent damage, was there?" I asked.

"No, Beau. She'll be good as new", Edythe said.

I held my breath.

"I want to go to La Push", I said after a long minute. "I need to see her. To apologize."

"She's probably still unconscious," Carine told me. "You should have seen the amount of morphine it took to put her out."

"I don't care," I said, pacing in front of the door. "This is my fault. I need to be there."

Carine and I rode in silence in the black Mercedes all the way to Bonnie Black's house. It was better the fewer vampires who visited the reservation, so no one else joined us. When the wolves were faced with a supernatural injury, they didn't have much of a choice in doctors. I could tell that Bonnie really hated this fact.

"Come in, Doctor," Bonnie said when Carine knocked.

"Hey, Bonnie. Is she awake?" I asked before Carine could speak.

"She woke up about an hour ago. Go on in."

I hesitated at the door to Jules' room. Carine opened the door just a crack to peek inside. Then she leaned in.

"Come in," a weak voice called.

Jules was staring at us, her expression calm and smooth. Her haggard, gaunt face was covered in sweat. She had to have been pretty out of it on the drugs. There was no telling how much of this she would even remember. Luckily, she was all covered up with a blanket. So I couldn't see the extent of the damage.

It was hard to look at her face, knowing that I had caused this for her.

"Oh, Julie," I murmured.

She didn't answer at first. She just stared as us for a moment. At first, I thought she was angry, but then her expression rearranged into a forced smile.

"Don't tell me you came to apologize," she sighed.

"How are you feeling?" Carine inquired.

"Pretty good, Doc. Some crazy stuff you injected me with. I feel a little stoned, to be honest. I think you might have overdone it."

"That might be so," Carine answered. "I was afraid I wouldn't dose high enough for your metabolism. Trial and error… But you're not in pain?"

"Nope. Can't feel a thing," she said, smiling again.

I pursed my lips. I felt even more awful now seeing her. Why didn't anyone ever try to kill me when I _wanted_ to be dead?

Julie looked at me then. "How 'bout you?" she asked. She sounded really concerned. "Are you okay?"

 _"Me?"_ I stared at her. She really had taken too many drugs. "You're worried about me?"

"Well, I mean, yeah. You had to look after the kiddo and everything and go up against that crazy red head. How did it go, anyway?"

It took me a minute to even process this. She was seriously asking about me?

"What? Why are you asking about me? You should be pissed off at me. Look at what I've put you through!"

Julie laughed. "What? Mad at _you?"_

"Yes! You should be mad at me."

"Well, I'm not. I don't blame you for anything. If it wasn't for stupid Lee…" she muttered. "I told him I had it!"

"I'm sorry, Jules."

"Ugh, not you, too," she grumbled.

"It _is_ my fault. And don't say it isn't."

She grinned. "You want me to rake you across the coals, don't you?"

"Actually… yes. I might feel better if I knew you weren't being so nice just for my sake."

"Well… I'm not going to."

I frowned.

"I feel bad for you, too, you know," she said, and her speech started to slur.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know… How things turned out. You got sucked into all the crazy. Life could have been so effortless… if the world was the way it was supposed to be."

I laughed. "What might have been? Without the monsters and magic?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "That's the worst part of all this."

"I'm happy with my fate," I said. "I just wish I could quit putting others' lives in danger for once."

"No." Jules shook her head. "Think about it…" She stared into space for a moment.

I tried to picture it. A future that wasn't overshadowed by something so strong it couldn't exist in any rational world. I couldn't imagine how I would feel without it.

"The way you look at her. She's like a drug to you, isn't she?" Her voice was all gentle and careless now. But I think someone else would have been healthier for you. I used to look at you that way at one time…"

I laughed. "Okay, now I really know those drugs are getting to your head."

"Just think…" Her words started to slur even more now as her eyes grew heavy. "Maybe we would have ended up together in that other world. We would have been happy."

I laughed again. "It sounds like you need to get to sleep."

"Maybe…"

"You'll get well soon," Carine said. "But I don't want you phasing until I give the okay. It might mess up the way the bones get set."

Julie made a face. "Sure thing, Doc…. Vampire surgeon extraordinaire."

"If you ever need anything, just let us know, okay? And we'll be back here as soon as possible," I promised.

Julie's eyes drifted closed before she could answer.

I'd been given a rundown of the whole battle. It seemed like the fight with the newborns was a mere scuffle compared to what Edythe and I had faced. One of the newborns even surrendered, but then four of the Volturi's soldiers had come to investigate.

Edythe had said it had all been a ruse, though. They'd known about the newborns for a while now, and they were curious to see if Victor would be able to succeed. It was nice to know that Carine's old friends seemed to care so much for us. The kid who surrendered, his name was Branden. They told me how the guard mercilessly ripped him apart all because he was ignorant of the law before today. The Volturi apparently didn't give second chances.

I'd learned the Volturi were extremely strict about their law. Carine had offered the kid a home, to take responsibility for him and teach him the rules. But they told her it didn't matter if he hadn't known the law or if he had. He was just as guilty.

Archie was able to catch a few glimpses of Victor's immediate future, but there was nothing too concrete. Again, he said the picture was hazy. All he knew was that he was more infuriated now than he'd ever been as he wandered alone in the snow-swathed wilderness to the northeast. He made no decisions for a new course beyond his directionless brooding.

Days passed after that, and Victor moved to the back of my mind. His plan had failed horribly. He was going to have to come up with something better than that if he wanted revenge. But what else could he do?

Edythe said the Volturi knew he was the one who had done all of this, and that they'd probably kill him if they came across him again.

There were other long-term problems to get back to now that the whole newborn issue had been taken care of. We would leave for South America in just a few days.

Every detail had been thought out a hundred times. We would visit the Ticunas and trace every bit of legend we could find to the source. And if we dead-ended with there, many other tribes were in the Amazon if we could find them. They might be able to point us in the right direction, at least. Carine did know a few vampires in that area, but she'd said they'd be hard to track down. They never really stayed in one place. There was no telling how long our search would take.

Tonight I was staring at Luca as he slept on the sofa while we discussed our travel plans. His breathing was ragged and distressed in his dreams. He'd had trouble sleeping ever since the encounter with Riley and Victor. He'd wanted someone to stay as near him as possible while he slept, so the sofa it was.

Eleanor and Jessamine were excited about the hunting possibilities. There would be a lot of different quarries to shake things up from the norm. Jaguars were good, as I knew from experience. Eleanor joked about wanting to wrestle with an anaconda, which I didn't doubt was more than just a joke.

As we discussed Brazil with Carine, and where we might fight some of her friends living in the jungle there, Archie moved slowly back and forth across the living room. I started to notice he seemed anxious about something. Could vampires even get anxiety? He went all around, unnecessarily tidying the already pristine room.

He was re-centering some vases on the center console when I noticed the way his face looked. He would alternate from looking blank, then aware, then back to blank again. I could tell he was scanning nervously through the future. I wondered why he was so worked up. Maybe he was just worried about what Victor would decide to do next.

Realizing some flowers were slightly wilted, he lifted one of the crystal vases and started toward the kitchen. I watched him carefully as he walked from the room, and as soon as he turned the corner and disappeared from view, I unexpectedly heard the whoosh of air rushing past the crystal, followed by the abrupt crash of the vase as it shattered into thousands of pieces all over the floor.

We all froze, staring in Archie's direction. My first thought was that he was just playing a joke on us because there was no way a vampire could accidentally lose grip on something and drop it. Any of us could have darted across the room to catch it in time if we hadn't already assumed he would catch it himself. But then I remembered his nervousness, and I think we all knew what this meant.

Then Archie was standing there facing us in the archway. I could tell his eyes were halfway focused on us, and halfway trained on the future. The look on his face was absolute horror, and I was so buried in the terror and despair of that look, I couldn't even speak.

Next, I heard Edythe gasp and drop the map she was holding. It was the most upsetting, horrified sound I had ever heard her make.

 _"What?"_ Jessamine demanded. She ran over to Archie and shook his shoulders. "What is it, Archie?"

Archie still did not speak. The rest of us remained frozen in fear, just staring at him anxiously.

"I… I had the perspective wrong before. _Very wrong_." He had a difficult time choking the words out. He was very perceptibly crushed at what he had just seen. Was Victor coming again already?

"About what?" Jessamine asked. "What changed?"

At the exact same time, Archie and Edythe broke the silence. Their voices were like ice as they whispered. "The Volturi."

The hair shot straight up on the back of my neck.

"They're coming for _us_ now," Archie said.

"Every single one of them this time," Edythe added. Both their voices were so empty it mortified me.

Dead silence.

Something in their words triggered a sort of vision of my own. That's when I knew exactly what was happening.

I could only imagine what Archie had just seen. Because only one thing could possibly evoke a reaction like this from him. In my head, I could picture it. The massive army of Volturi soldiers wearing black cloaks, slowly marching toward us.

Then I was overwhelmed by this urge to protect everyone around me. For the first time since becoming a vampire, I felt cold. Without even an ounce of conscious effort, I felt the bubble of my shield burst out from me, cradling my eight family members in an embrace only I could detect. My head was in such turmoil, I barely heard the confirmation of what I already knew.

"Sulpicia," Archie said, his voice as dead as if he were already defeated.

"Athenodora… Marcus… All of them," Edythe added.

Archie pushed his hands into his temples. "Why… how?" he asked himself as he paced the floor.

"When?" Edythe whispered.

"What!?" Carine demanded.

"Why?" Earnest echoed in shock.

" _When_?" Jessamine pleaded, her voice bleak.

Royal and Eleanor did not speak. They merely held each other closely as they watched the scene unfold around them.

Archie's eyes did not blink. They were only blank again. He was perfectly still, his jaw hanging open in shock.

"Not long," Edythe spoke alone. "Just a couple of weeks."

Carine answered. "This doesn't make any sense! They have to have a reason…and we've done nothing! Even if we had, what could we possibly have done to bring _this_ down on us?"

"It doesn't even matter why. There isn't anything we can do about it," Edythe said hollowly. "The decision will be made. They're all coming, Carine… Sulpicia… Athenodora… Marcus… every member of the guard, even all their witnesses. This isn't a trial. It's an _execution._ "

Carine's eyes widened. "That couldn't be right. Sulpicia and Marcus never leave the tower, not since I was with them centuries ago."

I finally felt brave enough to speak. "I don't understand, Edythe. What are you talking about? Nothing we can do about what? What did we do?" I demanded.

"Go back, Archie," Jessamine pleaded. "Search long and hard. What was the trigger?"

Archie shook his head. "It came out of nowhere, Jess! I wasn't looking for them. I was just watching Victor. He wasn't where I expected him…" His voice trailed off as he stared at nothing again.

And then he gasped in shock. His eyes were hard as flint. I heard Edythe's breath catch in her throat as she stopped breathing. "Victor!" she shouted. "That son of a bitch!"

"Victor decided to go to Italy," Archie determined. "They will decide after… but it's like they're _waiting_ on him. Like their decision was already made… It doesn't make any sense."

"We have to stop him!" Jessamine shouted.

"There isn't any time. He'll be there before we can get there."

"But why would he go see the Volturi after what he's done? He'll be putting himself at risk," Carine started to ask, but I wasn't paying attention any longer.

It was all painstakingly coming together in my head. I pictured what Victor had just seen up on the mountain, what he'd questioned in his mind. He saw vampires and werewolves who were allies, for one thing… But the other thing he'd seen was a child—an exquisitely beautiful, graceful child who was obviously not human.

I remembered the story too clearly now about Taran and his orphaned brothers. Losing their father to the Volturi after creating an immortal child destroyed them forever and made them purists when it came to the law.

And Victor must have been aware of the immortal children because of what Edythe said to him.

Is he really so much like the child you saw all those centuries ago?

The disbelief that had washed across his face was so clear in that moment, and being offered no other explanation, what else could he think Luca was? His darker skin and flush of blood could have been a trick on our part for all he knew.

Victor had stumbled upon a master plan far better than the one he'd spent months meticulously planning, only for it to fall through upon its execution. But Victor was cunning; he learned from his experiences.

What he knew now was just how strong we really were. An army of inexperienced newborns was clearly no match for us. But the deadliest force in the vampire world? That wasn't a battle we could fight.

"Victor thinks Luca is an immortal child…" I heard Edythe whisper, echoing my own thoughts.

"But he's wrong!" My voice was hard as I jumped in. "Luca isn't like those children. He grows and learns so much every damn day. He isn't out of control. He'd never hurt anyone. He's smarter than most adults. There's no reason for—"

"You aren't getting it, Beau!" Edythe snapped. "It isn't the kind of crime they hold a trial and jury for. Sulpicia reads minds just as well as I do. She will see _proof_ in Victor's thoughts. And as far as she knows, there's no other explanation for what he is. That's all the evidence they will need."

Luca was still asleep on the couch, and everyone hovered defensively around him now. It was ironic now how we'd worried he would grow old too fast. It sounded to me like he had just a couple of weeks now, the same as the rest of us.

"But what can we do?" I begged. "There has to be something! Can't we reach out to them?"

Everyone was silent through all my questions.

The silence was so ominous, and I hated being alone with all the thoughts bouncing around inside my skull. I wanted to scream and break something. Archie was deep inside his own visions again. But finally, he groaned as if he were in pain while he shook his head side to side violently. He looked straight at Carine for a tiny second and then looked down in shame.

"I can't see…" he choked out in an overwhelmed tone.

"What was that?" Edythe demanded. "The part in the jungle. Do we need to go find more answers first?"

"I can't see!" Archie was suddenly shouting. "Everyone needs to split up and hurry! Before the snow sticks. We have to grab everyone we know and bring them here and show Luca to them! Ask Elena… There is more to this than just an immortal child… There is so much, Jess. We have to hurry."

"Archie!" Edythe yelled back as she started after him. "What are you doing?! I don't understand what…"

"I have to go!" he exploded back at her, stopping Edythe in her tracks. "I'll see better away from Luca. I need to go. I really have to concentrate. I need to see everything I can!" He grabbed Jessamine by the arm. "Come on, Jess, now! Let's go!"

I blinked in confusion. What the hell had gotten into Archie?

And just like that, Archie and Jessamine were gone. "Hurry!" I heard him call from far away outside. "Find them all!"

Tires peeled down the driveway.

"What? Where is he going?" I asked.

No one answered.

"Well?" I disrupted the silence. "Come on, guys! We have to move. Let's do something about this! Just tell me what to do," I pleaded, looking at all of their faces desperately. "Someone answer me!"

Edythe looked at me eventually. She blinked, and then she went blank again. I watched her expression fade to utter grief. She looked down at the floor at the shattered crystal, her eyes just as lifeless as Archie's had been. Her fingers quivered. I'd never seen her look like that before. It was like she was about to cry.

"No… It's over, Beau." Her voice sounded like it came from inside of a grave. "For all of us."

Her tone left no room for me to question it. She erased all hope there could have been with just the way she spoke the words.

Was this the limit then? I'd experienced more happiness in the last nine months than most people ever would in a lifetime. Was there some natural force that required a balance of misery against all the happiness in the world? Apparently, those few months was all I was going to get.

In such a limited amount of time, I'd reached the highest of highs—found a perfect, heavenly existence here with the love of my life. And now, it was like after knowing, feeling, and experiencing that kind of perfection, that I should have anticipated the inevitable fall. I should have known that it would all come crashing down to be destroyed forever.

Though I knew she hadn't read my mind, Edythe answered my rhetorical question.

"This is the end for us. We're all going to die."


	24. DEFECTION

21\. DEFECTION

We sat there for hours, statues of devastation and hopelessness, and Archie never came back. We all were at our wits' ends. The inside of my head was utter chaos, as opposed to my body, which was absolutely motionless.

First and foremost, I was horrified to the truest sense of the word. I wanted to run away with my immortal family to some dark, remote corner of the world where not even the Volturi could find us. But second, I was furious. I was flooded with more anger and hatred than I thought my body could even hold. Angry that we hadn't incinerated Victor in Riley's burning heap while we had the chance, and furious that the Volturi were so dead set in slaughtering everyone that they wouldn't even hear our side.

In the world of vampires, biting a human child to create an immortal child was an absolute taboo. No immortal child had lived in many centuries since the dark days.

I sighed in frustration.

I wanted to yell and voice everything I thought about it in this moment. But the sun hadn't risen yet, and Luca was still in dreamland under my arms. I hadn't let go of him since Archie left. And I wondered what was taking him so long. It was awful having part of the family missing at a time like this, not to mention losing the insight to the future we had through him. I wanted him to come bursting through the door with that familiarly annoying enthusiasm—with some tiny portion of hope so that when Luca woke up, I could manage to smile and keep the truth from terrifying him, too.

I didn't even know if I was capable of smiling anymore. My eyes had not moved from Edythe's face since the news. We'd stared at each other all night, at what neither of us could live through losing. When the sun did rise, I could see my agonized expression in the reflection in her eyes.

"Archie…" she said.

Everyone softened up a little at the sound of her voice cutting the silence.

"Is he coming?" I asked.

She didn't answer.

"He's been gone for so long," Earnest said.

"Where could he be?" Eleanor wondered as she looked out the windows.

"He's never taken so long before," Edythe said. Fresh fear was creeping into her eyes. She'd been so blank all night. "Carine, you don't think they would send someone after them if they saw them running, do you? Would he have time to see if they did?"

I could picture the woman in the painting in Carine's study—Sulpicia. I imagined Archie and Edythe with blood red eyes, wearing heavy black cloaks as they stood on either side of their leader, while her hands lightly touched both of theirs.

Suddenly, Eleanor cussed loudly and ran out into the yard. Everyone else followed in a blur of action.

I was last as I gently sat Luca down without disturbing him. I sprinted out the door.

I was still faster than the rest. I pushed forward, surpassing Earnest and Royal. I caught up with Edythe and Carine.

"Would they have been able to catch him off guard?" Carine asked.

"I don't see how they could," Edythe answered.

"What if this is a trap?" Eleanor called from behind.

There was no scent but Archie and Jess, though. Where were they going? The trail cut into a wide arc east of the house, then north on the other side of the river, and back west again after several miles. Edythe maintained the lead on the trail.

"We're getting close to the Quileute border," Earnest called from behind us.

"Keep on the trail. See if they turned north or south," Edythe ordered.

I didn't know the treaty line like the rest of them did. But I could smell the wolf in the air now. Then the scent got a whole lot stronger.

Everyone stopped.

"Samantha?" Edythe asked. "What's this about?"

The tall, lean girl was walking toward us through the trees a few hundred yards away. Two of the wolves followed her. I think they were Paula and Jarrah. Sam's human pace made me impatient. I wanted to run to her, to do something about this immediately. But I knew how she would respond to us on her land.

Edythe's face went completely stark as she read the girl's thoughts. She stopped walking and started to speak.

"Around midnight, your Archie and Jessamine came here to ask permission to cross our land to the ocean. They agreed to allow me to escort them myself. They entered the water and never returned. Archie told me that it was absolutely important that I give you this note if you never came looking for them. He said to act as if all our lives depended on it?"

The woman held out a piece of paper covered in small black text. My razor-sharp eyes read the side of it facing me, but it was printed words rather than handwriting. That's because this was the copyright page from my copy of _Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea_. I noticed my own scent blow off the paper in the breeze. Carine had already read the note on the other side.

"Archie and Jessamine have decided to leave us," she whispered.

"What the hell?" Royal cursed.

Carine turned the page around for all of us to see.

 _Please don't come looking for us... You can't afford to waste any time._

 _Remember:_

 _Taran and his family… Grace… Alison… and any other friends you can find. We will look for Petrina and Charles ourselves. Find as many witnesses as you can before the snow sticks to the ground. That's when they will come. We are deeply sorry that we have to leave you this way, with no goodbyes or explanations. Please understand this is the only way for us._

 _We love you all._

We were all frozen in shock for about two of the wolves' heartbeats. Edythe spoke when she heard the question in Sam's head.

"Yes. Things are that dangerous."

"So much so that you would abandon your own family?" Sam asked out loud, spite coming through in her tone. It was clear she hadn't read the note until now.

Edythe was immediately defensive. "We don't know what he saw. Archie is neither unfeeling nor a coward. He just has more information than we do."

"Well _we_ would not—" Sam began.

 _"You_ are bound by force," Edythe snapped. "We can act based on our own free will."

Sam's face didn't change at the insult.

"But you should take the warning," Edythe went on. "If this is bad enough for part of my family to leave, it definitely is something you do not want to involve yourselves in. You can still avoid what Archie saw."

Sam shook her head. _"We_ don't run away."

Carine interjected. "Please do not get your family slaughtered for pride, Sam. There are many of our kind who will come here soon, and I am telling you with absolute certainty you do not want to cross paths with them. They are the leaders of the vampire world. They do not know about you, and they will be angered by your presence here."

Sam looked at Carine in a more diplomatic way. "As your daughter pointed out, we don't have the same kind of freedom you have. It is part of our duty to make sure no vampire gets near the reservation. We cannot abandon the tribe while your kind feast."

"They aren't coming to _feast_ ," Edythe said bluntly. "They'll be here to kill and destroy all right, but the humans will not be in danger."

"If not the people, then what? Destroy what?" Sam asked.

 _"Us,_ Sam," Edythe whispered. "And don't ask questions. We don't have all the information, like I said. "

Carine put her hand lightly on Edythe. "We have so much to do. Whatever Archie's decision, we need to follow his directions. Let's take his word. We don't have time to waste."

Edythe nodded, and her face was still pained.

Behind me, I could hear Eleanor's quiet, tearless sobs. Earnest looked as if he was on the verge of the breaking point himself.

I was no stranger to the feeling. But more than sadness, I felt… sort of pissed off, actually.

I was mad at Archie this time. I'd always thought of the Cullens as a whole, an indivisible unit. But it hadn't always been that way. Those of us standing here were all connected to Carine in some way. Only Archie and Jessamine had known life outside of Carine. Had they really chosen to move on to the next chapter of life when they foresaw this one held no more for them?

I truly resented him if that were really the case.

But who could blame him? We undoubtedly were doomed, weren't we? There was no hope for us left. If Archie and Jessamine had the chance to save themselves, what other choice did they have?

The air suddenly felt thicker and stuffy, as if it had been affected by the weight of my despair. It felt tighter in my lungs.

It all seemed so unreal. It was like having the worst nightmare ever, except I would never wake up from this dream.

Eleanor kept insisting that we shouldn't go down without a fight, no matter how futile it was. And Edythe continued to explain how any attempt against them would be totally useless.

Not only were we highly outnumbered, but the Volturi possessed a formidable arsenal of the most elite special abilities in the vampire world. Edythe had explained to me how they were not like humans in the way they handled justice; there were no trials, no courts or juries. They did not ever discuss anything with those they sought to execute. Their leader, Sulpicia, could read minds just as well as Edythe could. So once a vampire was considered guilty, he or she would without a doubt be burned. No one was even given the chance to plead their side before they attacked.

On the way back home, I started to drift a little behind. I wanted to know why Archie had written the note on a page from my book. It made no sense for him to go completely out of his way just to tear a page from one of my books. He could have grabbed paper from literally anywhere. I had this nagging feeling like there was some sort of hidden meaning in his strange course of action. There had to be some other clue he had left behind. I had to search the cottage.

"Beau?" Edythe finally questioned when she noticed my drifting.

"I want to follow this trail… to our house," I told her.

"He went there to write the note. That was a page from your book."

At first, I thought she wasn't going to follow me. But as I moved away, she started backing toward me.

"Just go home," I said to her. "I'll meet you back there in a minute."

Edythe nodded as she watched on after the others, who didn't stop for us. She didn't move, though. The look in her eyes questioned what I was doing.

"Just give me two minutes, please," I begged.

I didn't wait for her to answer, but she didn't follow. I darted to the cottage and pulled the door shut behind me. I went straight for my bookshelf. Archie's scent was fresh, but there was no trace of Jessamine.

And there was a fire burning in the fireplace that Edythe nor I ever set, so that was another thing to pile onto the list of things I didn't understand.

The first question was why Archie had come here alone. And why would he make Jessamine wait at the treaty line with Sam?

I yanked my old paperback off the shelf and flipped the cover page open. It almost tore off in my haste, it was so worn.

And right where the title page should be was the jagged edge left from where Archie had ripped it out. Just as I anticipated, under the words, _Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne,_ I found the answer I'd been searching for.

 _Beau, please do exactly as I say._

 _Take Luca and get as far away from here as possible. You can't tell anyone what you are doing. Find the opportunity to slip away unnoticed and take it. You are the only one their tracker will never be able to find. You are his only hope, Beau. Everything you two will need to get out of the country can be found here:_

 _J. Jenks_

 _626 Woodcroft Ave. Seattle_

My non-beating heart sank cold into my stomach the moment I read the words. I didn't even have time to feel the full weight of them, though, because the front door of the cottage was suddenly creaking open.

When Edythe stepped into the room, the book was blackening in the fire.

"What's going on, Beau?"

"I had to look at the book. I don't know why he chose to write on a page from my book. I had to see why."

"Did you find out why?"

I shook my head.

"Then why are you burning it?"

That caught me off guard. "I— It seemed appropriate, I guess."

I tried to let all of the grief show on my face so that Edythe wouldn't question what I was doing.

I prayed the pieces would all come together for her, that she would realize there was something only I could know, for obvious reasons.

Archie was giving Luca, and coincidentally me, an out. Did this mean it was the only way we would survive? No matter the answer, he was obviously going to great lengths to keep the idea from Edythe, and probably for a good reason.

And I think I could understand why.

I was the only person who could keep a secret from a mind reader. If Edythe or anyone else knew where Luca had escaped, it would be there in her thoughts. I'd never be able to let her know where we were. This was why I was the only one in the world through which an escape might be possible. There would be no goodbyes…

The problem with Archie's plan was that I would never be able to bring myself to do it. Not in a million years.

"I don't understand what he's doing!" Edythe groaned. "How could he just run off?"

"Edythe," I said. "Archie would be willing to die for us, for all of us to die, in order to stay with us. But imagine you were in Archie's place… You would never let anything happen to one person, and that's me…"

"Maybe it was just Jessamine in jeopardy…" she whispered, taking my bluff. "Maybe his plan would work for the rest of us, but Jess would be hurt if she stayed…"

"Exactly," I nodded. "Archie has his priorities. But we can't sit here and fret over it. Let's get home. We shouldn't waste any more time."

Edythe took my hand as we ran.

To be honest with myself, if there were any way at all to avoid what was coming, Archie would have stayed. There was no other possibility. And this was what he was giving me. A way for me to escape with Luca because I could be safe running from the Volturi. But was there was no one else I could save if I stayed? If I could do something to preserve a single one of their lives, I couldn't care less if I died.

At home, Carine and the others were already prepared to leave. Everyone was dressed in sturdy pairs of jeans, running shoes, and shirtsleeve shirts. Royal was holding a backpack. A globe sat at the main table, but they were already done looking at it.

"We're to stay here?" Edythe questioned as she accessed the thoughts in the room. Her voice sounded dejected.

"Archie said it himself, Edythe," Carine said. "You have to show people Luca, albeit extremely carefully. We'll send them all back here to you. You're the only one who can traverse that particular minefield in their thoughts. You'll be the best at explaining him to everyone."

"Carine, there is so much ground to cover."

"We're splitting up," Royal answered. "El and I will find all the nomads."

"You'll have plenty to do here," Carine said. "I already called Taran. They will be here in the morning. I didn't tell them anything. They will be the most difficult to persuade, as you can imagine, so do be careful. But that is the reason they will be our most important witnesses. And talk to Elena about this being something more than what it seems. I'm not sure what he meant by that. It will start again as the others arrive. Do the best you can to persuade them to stay and attest for us. Your job is going to be the hardest, I'm afraid…"

Carine hugged Edythe tightly for one second and then came to hug me. Earnest embraced us both as well, and Eleanor punched each of us in the arm. Royal crouched down to Luca's level and told him he promised he would be back before he knew it, with all kinds of friends to meet him.

"Good luck," Edythe told them.

I watched them leave helplessly. It felt horribly backward for us all to separate right now. I also wished I could feel what little hope they felt, but they hadn't been the one to bear the information from Archie's second note.

I had to figure out who this J. Jenks person was and why he was important. What did he know? Was he one of us? Would he know how to help?

"I don't know if they will come. I sure hope so," I heard Edythe whisper. She was speaking to Luca, answering an unspoken question.

What would Luca make of all of this? How much had he gathered already? What would we tell him? How could we explain such a dire situation to a child? My heart broke even more.

I looked at him cautiously, and he didn't look scared. He just looked… serious. Like he was coming up with plans of his own.

"No, we can't leave. We have to stay here and meet Carine's friends…" Edythe said to him. Then she hesitated. "No, I don't know why Ati left."

I was so caught up in everything, the Egyptians' absence hadn't even occurred to me. None of them had said a word in the hours after Archie left. They must have slipped out while we were with Sam.

And of course they would leave. The only thing in this whole wide, wicked world Ati had to be afraid of was the Volturi. Half her family had been slaughtered by them. More importantly, she had to keep Benji on the down low. Sulpicia would never let her go if she found her.

A few minutes later, Luca was listening to his music from a portable CD player through a pair of headphones. I was sure he wouldn't be able to hear us, so I whispered quietly.

"Were the immortal children really that bad?"

Edythe nodded. "You have no idea the depth of the scars they left on our world… The wreckage in Seattle? That was nothing," she whispered to me. Then she looked back at Luca. "This is going to be insanely difficult introducing him to anyone. He'll need to hide in our cottage until the right moment, once each and every one of them understands. You'll stay with him there?"

I nodded. That plan actually gave me a perfect opportunity to make the escape I was supposed to take. Too bad Archie wasn't here to make me seize the opportunity. "I can do that. Company starting tomorrow?"

"Yes. The Denalis will be the hardest of all. I'm going to go talk to Julie. They need to keep away while the others are here. We don't need our friends' reactions tainted by their presence."

In Edythe's short absence, I sat down at one of the computer desks to decode Archie's clues. I quickly ran my fingers across the keys, keeping an eye out to make sure Luca wasn't paying attention to me.

There was no J. Jenks that I could find. But there was a Janice Jenks. A lawyer. She had a fancy site for her law firm, but the address wasn't right. I noted the phone number in my mind and backspaced my search. This time I plugged the address in, but nothing came up. It said the address could not be found. I'd have to look at a map.

Then Luca got up and put the CD player down as he took interest in what I was doing. I deleted the history in one swift brush of the keys.

Luca reached up for me as I stared out the windows for Edythe. I opened up my arms, and he hopped up into them to sit on my lap.

I couldn't stand this. Naturally, I feared for my own life and for Edythe's, and for everyone else. That was actually the part of the outcome I could deal with. If Edythe was leaving this world, then I wasn't going to be far behind her. That was my solution if all else failed. But nothing could describe the agony that split through me at the thought of Luca, so young, so bright, so pure… the danger he had suddenly been put up against. After all the struggle to give him life, it was being cut short at just a few months. It was blasphemy.

Huilén withering away through a painful pregnancy, then being violently torn apart from the inside, all because of how much she loved Luca… So many sacrifices she gave for him in the end, and it would all be for nothing.

There had to be _some_ other way to save him, even if that meant not saving myself. I made up my mind then that there was no way I could ever leave Edythe. Archie's plan was out.

Luca was the only thing that I absolutely _had_ to save, even if the rest of us burned. There was no question about it.

Would Archie have known that I felt that way?

Luca touched my face lightly.

He showed me my own face, then Edythe's, Royal's, Earnest's, Carine's, Archie's, Jessamine's, Eleanor's… flipping through them all over and over again like a picture book. He was worrying, like the rest of us. But he was only worrying in response to our worry. He didn't know the reason behind it.

And it we were going to keep it that way.

The part about the no hope had been withheld from him—the part where we were all going to die.

He settled in on Archie's face for one last time and held it there. Then he switched to Jess and held hers there just as long. Where were they?

"I don't know," I whispered. "They're on a secret mission. They're doing what they have to do, too, just like Carine and Royal and everyone else."

They were doing what they had to do for themselves, anyway. I hated thinking of Archie like that, but how else could this be interpreted?

Luca frowned at me.

"I know. I miss them, too."

I felt my face tensing up like it was attempting to provide the expression I felt. My eyes felt too dry. They blinked again and again uncomfortably. I bit down on my tongue. When I inhaled again, the muscles in my chest twitched as the air rushed in, like I was about to cough.

This had happened once before, at my graveside service. This was what it was like to cry in this body.

Luca looked at me with glistening eyes then as he watched mine. He put his hand back to my face, but he showed me nothing. He was only trying to comfort me.

Tears started to well up in his eyes as he watched the grief that I couldn't hold back from my face any longer. I wiped one tear off his cheek as it fell. He blinked in amazement, touching the moisture in his eyes.

And I realized he'd never really cried before. There was never a reason to. And there shouldn't ever have been in his world. His world should be the kingdom of immortality where no one dies. He should never have to know loss or pain.

"Don't cry," I told him. My voice was absolutely certain now. "It's going to be okay. I will find you a way out of this."

If there was nothing else I could do, I would do just that. If Archie was confident he could find safety for Luca and me, surely that same refuge could be reserved for Luca alone.

I'd get him through this if it was the last thing I ever did. There had to be a way.


	25. INTRODUCED

22\. INTRODUCED

There was so much to think about; I thought my head was going to explode. How would I find the time to escape to Seattle without anyone knowing what I was doing? And it killed me not knowing exactly what I would be doing there. Did I need to take Luca with me, or go alone?

What were we going to say to all the people who would be coming here in just a few short hours? Ask them to stand with us and die when the time came? Anyone else associated with us would be murdered as well. Would they even try to fight the Volturi back? Would _we_ fight back?

I didn't even know what to do in a fight. The only physical confrontation I'd been in was with Riley, and she'd been just as new at it as I was. Was there even a chance at all, with what little time I had, to learn to be a fighter? One who would possibly be a threat to any of the Volturi? There were so many answers I wanted that couldn't be given.

"Edythe, what are we supposed to do when it comes down to it? We can't just stand there helplessly while they burn us," I finally said when the tension boiled over within me.

"We'd be helpless no matter what we did, Beau, if it came down to it," she sighed.

"But Eleanor said if we put up enough of a fight, they'd have to listen to us for just a few seconds," I insisted.

"It never comes to a fight. No one ever gets the chance. Remember what I said about them being a collection of the best talents in the world?"

I nodded.

"The cornerstone of the Volturi offense are their two youngest members, Jasen and Alexandra," Edythe told me. "Alexandra has the ability to completely incapacitate someone from a great distance. All of your senses are cut off entirely. You probably don't even feel anything when they rip you apart."

I shivered. Yeah, that would definitely explain the lack of trial and debate. So was that the best we could hope for? Some sort of supernatural anesthetic?

I sighed. "Huh… It actually surprises me that they'd show any sort of mercy like that."

"It's really more for the sake of avoiding conflict. They can inflict all the torture in the world if they so wish. The girl's twin brother, Jasen, does the opposite. He can incapacitate you with the worst pain you've ever experienced. It's said to be worse than the pain of the venom. He just has to look at you, and you feel like you're on fire. They were both there the other day in the clearing. In fact, most of the rest of the guard sits there bored while the twins do their work."

Great. Supernatural anesthesia and psychic flamethrower. That's what we were up against.

A curious idea popped into my head then. "But do you think Alexandra and Jasen are very good fighters? Like, since they can put a man on the ground without touching him, would they even know what to do in a fight without their powers?"

"I'm not sure. Why would they need to? The Volturi has plenty of fighters."

"I hate to brag on myself, but I'm doubting that stuff would work on me. Would it? Because it's all in your head, right? They've probably never even tried fighting someone the way the rest of us do…"

"That's… an intriguing thought. But you definitely don't want to test that theory out. Besides that, if Sulpicia sees you do something like that, there will be no way she won't steal you from us right then and there. Remember what Elena said. Your gift would be the ultimate prize to someone like her."

I jumped to my feet as the ideas came at me. "What if it distracts her? What if I could offer myself as some sort of trade? I could save all of us…" I let the thought trail off.

"Beau, please." She put her hand to my lips to stop me. "Don't make me think of you as some possession to barter with. Let's not go there, please…"

I nodded. I would have to keep my crazy ideas to myself then. What a difference I could make if this really were true. Maybe there was a chance after all… Of course, I would never _want_ to join them, but the worst thing that could ever happen to me would be to lose Edythe. Lose them all. If we got separated… well, that was at least better than the alternative.

The bond that had been forged between Edythe and me was not one that could be broken by absence, distance, or time. No matter how much more special or beautiful or brilliant or perfect she was compared to me, she was as irrevocably altered as I was. And no matter where we were, no matter how far apart, no matter how long, I would always belong to her, and so would she always be mine.

Then I thought about Archie's private note. He'd mentioned that I would be the only one their "tracker" wouldn't be able to find.

"So how do they find the people they seek to punish?" I asked. "You guys have made it obvious that we can't avoid them, no matter where we go."

"Delphia," she answered. "The next best thing they have. She's their tracker. But not just _any_ tracker. Joss's chases would be child's play to her. No one hides from Delphia. I'm not sure exactly how her gift works, but she can find anyone on the face of the planet from any distance. I know that she's not tracking them physically, though. It works by some psychic means."

The pieces were all coming together for me now. For one, the Volturi were unyielding, merciless, and unstoppable… You couldn't hide, and you sure as hell couldn't fight them off.

But two, I was probably the only one in the world immune to those weapons that made them so unconquerable. I was willing to bet Delphia could never find me.

I kept the idea to myself, though. This was the hope that Archie was hinging on… why he'd wanted me to be the one to escape with Luca.

Which meant… Luca wouldn't be found either. How would Archie know that?

He did know that.

Because Luca was one of the only things he himself had never been able to see. Luca trumped both of us. Archie was blinded by his presence, and he did his mental projection straight through my shield. He'd be immune just as well. He was so unique that I wagered nobody would be able to touch his mind.

This was Archie's plan.

And the other hope was here in what was brewing at home. It was becoming more and more clear that our world didn't hold such a positive view of our leaders. Ati's coven had been driven to near extinction thousands of years ago. Then there was also the leader of the Denali coven. Taran's father had been ripped from their lives so abruptly it left them cowering in fragile pieces. And there had to be so many others with similar stories.

Any of Carine's friends would know the stories… they'd see the evidence in Sulpicia's collection she had amassed over the years. It was so obvious. They'd silently grown more and more powerful since their beginning, and now they were unstoppable. She could have anything she wanted at this point.

This wasn't just a fight to prove innocence. It was a fight for what we believe in, and the way we want to live.

As it grew lighter, I watched Edythe lean against the glass of the back wall, anticipating Taran's arrival.

I pulled Luca, still sleeping, up into my arms and held him protectively in anticipation. Who knew how they'd react? Would they be hostile when they saw what to them could only be an immortal child?

I wished we could get the information we needed about the Volturi from Elena before we introduced Luca. She'd been one of them years ago, and she hadn't been entirely happy with them. She used to give Sulpicia advice on what any given vampire was capable of, and they would decide who would be useful to them. So she knew my theory better than anyone.

"Taran shouldn't be much longer," Edythe said. "Be ready."

But how, though? Keep Luca hidden or in view? I decided to move around the corner from the front door in the dining room. I never let go of Luca.

I listened to all of the cars zooming by on the highway. Luca started to shift around, nestling his head into my chest.

When I heard the car slow, and pull into the driveway, I decided to wake him.

He looked up at me curiously. "Someone is here to meet you," I said.

"What if they don't like me?" he whispered.

"They'll like you once they get to know you. They just don't understand you, because you are the only one in the world like you. Getting them to understand might take a while."

He sighed.

"You're special. It's not a bad thing."

I heard Edythe shift as she went to stand at the door. Luca hid his face in my shirt. I listened intently to the tires coming as they moved from pavement to soft ground. I stared at my reflection in the glass of the windows, seeing the look of desperation on my face. I tried to shake myself out of it.

The car stopped at the front porch, and four doors opened and closed quickly. They didn't utter a word as they approached.

Edythe opened the door before they reached it.

"Edythe!" Taran enthused.

"Hello, Taran."

"Carine said she needed to speak with us right away," Taran said. "What's happening? What's the problem?"

"Where is Carine?" Elena asked.

"Carine had to leave."

Silence.

"Why? Tell us, Edythe," Taran demanded.

"Okay, first, if you could give me the benefit of the doubt while I explain the whole thing to you. This is going to be very difficult for me to make you understand, so please hear me out."

"Is Carine all right?" Elena asked anxiously. "She said there was danger. Is it those werewolves?"

"Our peace with the wolves is stronger than ever," Edythe answered. "But none of us are all right. Carine is fine, physically…"

"Physically?" Taran asked. "What do you mean?"

"Taran, I will explain. But I am _begging_ that you hold your reactions until you hear all of the story."

Everyone was silent again.

"Well? We're listening," Taran finally said. "I promise we will hear what you have to say before we judge."

"Thank you, Taran. We wouldn't involve you in this if we had any other choice."

"Where is Beau? Did he…? Oh, I can smell him now. Tell us about the danger. I never could make sense of anything Carine was—" Taran broke off suddenly as I heard him enter the house.

"What is that noise?" he asked suddenly. "Is that a… Did you get a _bird_?"

Luca's heart was picking up pace beneath me, beating extremely quickly like a hummingbird.

"No, but remember what you hear." Edythe's voice lightened with relief. "This is what I wanted to show you. Next, what do you smell?"

"Is there… a human here?" Elena asked tentatively.

"Yes and no," Edythe said.

Another beat of silence.

"That's not a human," Taran argued. "But there is a human smell. Has someone fed recently? Do you have a guest?"

"I've never smelled anything like that before," Kirill added.

"Exactly," Edythe said. "You've never smelled anything like that before because you've never _seen_ anything like it before. That being said, please remember that what you are about to see is entirely new to you."

"Enough of the teasing!" Taran insisted.

"All right, then. Beau?"

I felt like I was frozen in place. I forced my legs to move forward, only until I was just one step in view of Taran's family. Luca turned and peeked out from my shirt, and his shoulders were tight, expecting the reactions.

I thought I'd prepared myself for this… But I was wrong.

Taran gasped loudly and leaped back several feet, guarding those nearest him. It was like a human seeing a rattlesnake on a walking trail. Kirill darted all the way to the front door and braced himself against it. A sharp hiss slipped from between his teeth. Calvin grabbed Elena and started pulling her out of the room. They all looked absolutely devastated at what they assumed one of us had done. More than that, they looked utterly betrayed.

Oh, good lord…

Edythe ran over to stand next to me. "Stop! Don't go anywhere! You promised you would listen."

"This is something that I cannot bear to hear, Edythe!" Taran shouted. "How could you?! Are you out of your goddamn mind?"

Kirill grabbed Taran by the shoulder. "Come on! We need to get out of here, now!"

"Edythe…" Elena breathed. Her face was stunned.

"Hold on!" Edythe demanded. "Remember? The sound? The smell? He isn't what you _think_ he is!"

"I don't care what you think he is, Edythe!" Taran snapped back. "There are no exceptions to the rule, and you know it!"

"Just shut up! Everyone, listen!" Edythe shouted. "He has a heartbeat! Stop and think about what that means! What immortal has ever had a beating heart?"

 _"Heartbeat_?" Calvin asked incredulously.

"He is not a vampire," Edythe pleaded. "He is more human than anything else. Just listen to the blood that pulses in his veins. He's biologically _half_ human."

The entire family went silent and stared at her like she was speaking in tongues.

"You have to believe me," Edythe begged. "Luca was fathered by a vampire, but his mother was human. She gave birth to him!"

"Edythe, you can't expect us to believe that," Elena said.

"Tell me another explanation, Elena. You feel the warmth? Smell the blood? Hear his heart?"

"How?" Kirill breathed in disbelief.

"He is biologically half human, half vampire," Edythe told him. "No one has bitten him."

"That couldn't be possible," Elena said. Her shoulders were still stiff in defense.

"I witnessed the pregnancy myself, Elena. I pulled him from her womb. It's one-hundred percent the truth. Relationships between us and humans are not common. Survivors of such interactions are not common either. I think you should know that."

Kirill and Taran scowled at her.

It was Calvin who seemed to believe it first. He slowly stepped away from Elena and walked carefully to stand directly in front of me. He leaned down slightly to look Luca in the face.

"He _does_ have human eyes," he admitted calmly, "but the face of an immortal." And then of course, like he couldn't help it, he smiled wide at Luca.

Luca smiled back at him. He touched my face without looking away. He was imagining touching Calvin's face.

"Er, do you mind if Luca tells you about himself?" I asked Calvin. "He has a… way of showing you things."

Calvin smiled. "Do you speak, little one?"

"Yes," Luca answered without hesitation. Kirill and Taran flinched at the sound of his trilling high voice. "But I can show you more about me than I can tell you."

He placed his hand on Calvin's cheek.

Calvin jumped straight up as if Kirill had used his electric shock on him. Elena was at his side immediately, trying to yank him away.

"Wait," Calvin protested. His eyes blinked spastically.

Luca continued to show Calvin his explanation for a long time. Edythe's face started to relax a little.

"It's all true," Calvin decided suddenly. "Such a vivid gift! It makes me wonder what the father was like…"

Calvin tilted his head, urging Elena forward. Then he looked back down at Luca. "Show him, mi querido…"

Luca grinned, pleased by Calvin's interest, then he touched Elena's face before she could back away.

 _"Ay caray!"_ Elena shouted, jumping back away from him.

"What did he do to you?" Taran demanded.

"He's trying to show you his story," Calvin reassured her. He nodded encouragingly.

Elena eyed me suspiciously before glancing back down at Luca. She took a deep breath, then leaned back into his touch.

She flinched again when the images hit, closing her eyes in concentration.

"Amazing," she sighed. Her eyes came back open. "I _do_ see…"

"Elena!" Taran said disapprovingly.

"It is all true, Taran," she said. "This is no immortal child. You can even witness the birth yourself…"

Silently, Taran reluctantly stood in front of me. He showed the same shock when the images first hit him. But then he was won over immediately when it was done.

Kirill and Ivan and Lauren followed as well. The only one who didn't react with surprise was Lauren. She was the outsider. She'd probably never seen an actual immortal child.

"Thank you for listening… or _watching_ , rather," Edythe said quietly.

"But where is the danger Carine warned us of?" Taran asked. "This child is clearly not dangerous."

"That's exactly what we need you to testify!" Edythe exclaimed excitedly when Taran made the point immediately.

Taran paused. "The Volturi." It wasn't a question.

"How did they find out about him?" Elena asked.

I wasn't surprised at their sudden understanding. Anyone else who had seen Luca would have run straight to the Volturi.

Edythe looked at Lauren. "Victor came back."

Lauren gasped.

Edythe explained the whole story. The newborns, Victor running away, and Archie's vision.

"The _entire_ guard?" Elena gasped.

"Oh, not just the guard," Edythe shook her head. "Even Sulpicia herself."

Shock glazed over all their faces.

"Impossible!" Elena said.

"I would have said the same."

"But that doesn't make any sense… Why would Sulpicia, Athenodora, and Marcus put themselves in danger?" Elena scowled.

"Because this is no punishment expedition, Elena," Edythe explained. "Sulpicia had long decided something like this against us. She was merely waiting for the excuse."

"More than punishment? But what…" Elena trailed off, pacing the floor. "You don't think…"

"Where is everyone?" Taran asked anxiously.

"Looking for other friends who can help us," Edythe answered.

Elena put her hands on her hips. "Edythe, surely you must know no matter how many friends you gather, it isn't going to help you. You'd be asking us to die with you."

"I'm not asking you to fight," Edythe said, shaking her head. "You know Carine would never request that."

"Then just what do you plan to do?"

"We only want witnesses. We want as many as possible to testify in our defense, if you will, the very same things you've observed about Luca. He is the farthest thing from an immortal child. If we can just make them pause for one moment… We could explain." Edythe grabbed Luca's hand, placing it to her cheek. "It's hard to deny the story when you see it for yourself."

"But will they care?" Taran asked. "What if they still view him as a risk?"

"We will have to prove that Luca is not like those children who could not be tamed. The purpose of the restriction was to prevent exposure."

"I'm not dangerous at all," Luca jumped in. "I've never hurt anyone."

"If Victor had not come so soon…" Edythe mused. "Luca grows so quickly, I doubt he would have looked so much like a child in a year's time. Then we wouldn't be facing this. In fact, by the time they come, he'll look another year older."

"Well, that is certainly something we can also witness," Calvin said. "A child, he is… but not for long, it seems. Sulpicia will see all the evidence herself. How could she ignore such proof?"

Elena mumbled to herself. "How, indeed…" She continued pacing the floor, deep in thought.

"Yes. We will be witnesses for you," Taran declared. "And we will consider what more we can do if it comes to that."

"No," Edythe protested. "I won't have any of you putting yourselves at risk. If the Volturi ask that you leave in peace…"

"If the Volturi refuse to hear the truth, then they don't deserve to be in charge," Taran insisted. "We would not simply stand by while an innocent family is murdered."

"It's a suicide mission," Elena muttered.

"I'm in," Kirill said.

"I, too, will protect this child," Calvin agreed.

This might actually work out better than I thought it would. Luca was irresistible. Everyone who ever met him was drawn in… They were willing to even pledge their lives to protect him.

"I hate thinking of them that way!" Elena burst out suddenly. "Edythe, if you are right…"

Edythe cut her off. "You were the one who gave me the idea, after all."

"If _I_ am right," she continued. "I can't even come to terms with what that would mean. I would have to question the world they've created. I would have to question what I was once a part of. What have I done? All the lives…"

Taran put his hand on Elena's shoulder. "What did we miss, sister? I want to know so that I can debate as well. Please, explain."

Edythe answered. "We're trying to understand why so many of the Volturi are coming to punish us. This isn't how they do things. We're the biggest coven they've ever dealt with, certainly. But covens have joined forces to protect themselves in the past, and they never presented much of a challenge. We're more closely united, but that's not much of a factor."

"A pattern occurred to me…" Elena said. "In the past, when a coven was guilty of one thing or another, Sulpicia was particularly interested in attending the punishing expedition when I informed her of a vampire with a powerful gift. And sure enough, that person she would claim had repentant thoughts, and she would offer him or her a place in the guard in exchange for surrender. There were even times when I would stumble across a particular gift, and Sulpicia would soon find that coven was guilty of some unpardonable crime. It happened time and time again, and I always blew it off as coincidence."

"Must be a heady thing being chosen," Kirill mumbled.

I had to interrupt. "I don't understand. Why do all of these people even agree to serve the Volturi like that? What's in it for them?"

Edythe gave a one-shoulder shrug. "For one, it's a very prestigious position. The Volturi are essentially seen as royalty. But they do have Chariton…"

"Ah, I can see now why Chariton was so important to Sulpicia," Elena went on. "He has influence over the emotional connections people feel for each other. He can break people apart or bring them together. I'd always thought he'd been used mainly to distance members of a coven so that the innocent would not try to protect the guilty. Chariton would break their bindings, and we could defeat them more easily. But now I think he may have been doing much more than that. Because he can make someone feel pleased with life among the guard and make them _want_ to please Sulpicia."

This clarified a lot of things for me, except for the fact that Elena was here now, and not with the Volturi. She'd somehow escaped this Chariton's effects.

"How strong is his gift, though?" I asked.

Elena shrugged. "I was able to leave when I found Calvin. Anything weaker than the bonds of partners, though, is in danger. Most covens aren't so civilized. They don't have nearly the allegiance to each other."

"I think the real reason Sulpicia is coming herself and bringing so many with her, is because this is about acquisition, not punishment," Taran said. "It's obvious, isn't it? She needs to be here to control the situation but needs all the protection because your coven is so large. She must want you guys' gifts very badly."

"I've seen her mind. I don't doubt it," Edythe agreed. "She's never wanted anything more than Archie, though. And she certainly doesn't know about Beau. She _can't_ know."

Then the thought occurred to me. What if that's why Archie left? What if it was capture he feared, rather than death? I was picturing it again now: Archie and Edythe standing alongside Sulpicia in black cloaks with eyes the color of blood. Would I be important enough for her to steal away as well? Had Archie seen this? Had he seen Chariton trying to strip away our love for each other to bind us to Sulpicia?

"Is that why Archie left?" I asked.

I heard Taran inhale sharply. "You mean Archie's not with the others? When did this happen?"

Edythe ignored the question. "It has to be. To keep Sulpicia from gaining such a power. He's keeping the future out of her hands."

Elena muttered in a disturbed voice. "Just wait until she sees Beau… She'll want him more than any of you, that's for sure. Sulpicia would be invincible… A physical shield _and_ a psychological shield at her sides."

Edythe changed the subject. "I think she was waiting for this accusation. She couldn't know that the excuse would ever manifest, but the plan was already in place before it came. That's the reason Archie saw all of this in great detail before Victor had even triggered it."

"I can't believe the Volturi are abusing the trust all of our kind have put in them…" Calvin said.

"I suppose it doesn't matter," Edythe said. "Who would believe it? And who would ever stand against them if they really thought the Volturi were exploiting their power?"

Many pairs of golden eyes darted around the room accusingly at us.

"Apparently, some of us are insane enough to try," Kirill muttered.

"Please remember you are only here to witness," Edythe reminded them.

Elena continued. "Whatever Sulpicia's intentions, I don't think she is ready to tarnish the Volturi's reputation. Our lives are riding on the hope that we can take her argument away from her… She would have to leave in peace."

When the idea settled into the room, no one said anything more. Was death really becoming a lesser concern? Was it involuntary servitude we should really be fearing? The whirlwind of thoughts spun around in my head. I suppose I could live with being enslaved to the Volturi, as long as Edythe's life would be spared for it. And I also I knew that I could be happy anywhere so long as she was with me.


	26. COMPANY

23\. COMPANY

The Cullens' enormous house felt strangely cramped with eight new occupants. It was a good thing none of us ever slept. Petrina and Charles showed up just a few hours after the Denali clan. So Archie and Jessamine had sent them after all.

Jessamine's old companions didn't have as much to say about our situation as the Denali vampires had. In fact, they didn't have much to say about anything. They were just as quiet as Ati's family had been. They were only vaguely aware of the Volturi, having no personal experiences with them. They promised the same thing our other friends had, to stand by as witnesses to our cause.

Petrina brought the news that Martino had stumbled across her recently while she and Charles were staying in Calgary. For the first time in all these years, he had offered an apology to Petrina, and he'd asked about Jessamine. Petrina let him know about Jess's new life, but that he should stay away from us. She knew Jessamine still didn't trust him, and he was undeniably dangerous.

I tried to keep thinking positively. There was no way that they could take us all out before someone spoke the undisputable truth. The universe couldn't be that cruel. Hopefully, the worst outcome we might face now would be separation from the rest of the Cullens.

I would not live without Edythe, so I would join them without hesitation if she were forced on their side. And I knew she would do the same for me. I could live with that, knowing the rest of our family would still be safe. Edythe and I would just be on our own. I hoped they'd never find Archie. Surely, he could keep just out of their grasp indefinitely, given his advantages. That was possible, right?

But if the conversation never got that far… I kept wondering to myself if there would be anything for us on the other side. Edythe didn't seem to believe so, but I know Carine did. I couldn't really convince myself of it, to be honest. But I couldn't imagine Edythe not existing _somewhere_. And as long as we were together, I didn't care where that might be.

It was a cold and gloomy afternoon, almost dusk. Would it snow tonight? Archie hadn't given us an exact timeline, only to be ready when the snow sticks to the ground. I sincerely hoped the snow wouldn't stick if it came. I wasn't prepared for this today. But then again, would I ever be better prepared?

Edythe had the fireplace going tonight. Our guests enjoyed the ambiance of a burning fire. I sat next to it, waving my hand near the flames to warm them. It was an interesting sensation because it was so different from how this would have felt as a human. Back then, I suppose the warmth was a relief because my body wanted to be warm. But now there was no relaxation attached to it.

I was careful, though, to not let the licking flames make contact with my skin. After seeing Riley's tattered remains go up like jet fuel, I would probably always be a little wary of fire. I guess it was inevitable that we could only go out the same way we came into this life… by burning. I started to wonder what it would feel like to just stick my hand into the flame. What it would feel like when they torched me…

Soon, the one of the individuals Eleanor and Royal had tracked down showed up. She was a free-roaming nomad.

Her name was Grace. She was a very tall, lanky vampire with ruby eyes and long sandy hair she kept tied in a ponytail. She was very kind, and charming. She quickly fell in with the Denali brothers, asking them endless questions about their lifestyle. I wondered if she would try it. She seemed to have a particular fondness for Kirill, instantly fascinated by his electric touch.

Grace and Petrina and Charles reacted more smoothly to Luca. They listened to his story and promised to stay and witness like the others. They even considered what they would do if the Volturi wouldn't listen.

Carine and Earnest came back a few days later. Eleanor and Royal weren't long behind them. Carine brought just two friends she was able to track down, though 'friend' was a generous term for one of them.

Alison was a solitary British vampire who counted Carine as her closest acquaintance, though she rarely socialized with anyone. I wondered how much persuasion it had taken to get her here.

The brooding, dark-haired woman took our word for it about Luca. She refused to touch him. Edythe told me Alison was afraid to be here but more fearful of not knowing the outcome. She, too had a distaste for the Volturi, as she was deeply suspicious of all authority.

"And of course, now they'll know I was here," she complained in her obnoxious cockney accent. "No way to keep it from Sulpicia at this point. I'll be on the run for centuries… I'm sure everyone Carine has spoken to in the last decade will be sucked into this mess."

Alison preferred to stay alone in the attic. She was 'annoyed' by company but was interested in waiting around to see the outcome of our situation.

At least someone was entertained by it.

The other nomad was Toshiro. He was a middle-aged, very reserved man. He looked to be of Asian descent. He, too, refused to touch Luca, though he didn't argue with the story. He mostly kept to himself as well, entertaining himself with Carine's computers and books.

I tried to keep my mind distracted with all the distinct conversations going on around me. Eleanor and Lauren were arguing the nutritional value of animal blood, particularly carnivores versus herbivores. Lauren insisted that we weren't as strong without the traditional diet. Eleanor was intent to prove otherwise.

Another intense discussion was going on in the kitchen, and I moved to investigate.

"They say you can put a vampire flat on the ground," Grace was saying to Kirill.

Kirill pushed his hair back and leaned against the counter, edging closer to her. "Oh, yeah? You curious?" he asked in a flirtatious voice.

Grace shrugged. "It's something I've never heard of… Hard to believe, if I do say so myself. I'm thinking maybe it's a bit of an exaggeration…"

"Perhaps it is," Kirill smiled tauntingly. "Maybe it only works on the weak. I'm not sure. You look like a strong woman, though. Perhaps you can take it." He stretched his hand out, palm up. He smiled in an enticing way at her.

Grace grinned at the challenge. Much too confidently, she reached out to touch him with her index finger.

It had been a while since I'd last practiced my shielding with Kirill, but I remembered what to do with perfect recall. I decided to throw Kirill off his game a little…

They hadn't noticed me watching yet, so I blew the shield silently out around Grace, keeping Kirill out of it.

Grace burst out laughing at Kirill's stunned face when nothing happened. "It's okay," Grace laughed. "Don't worry. I'm sure you won't hurt me."

Kirill's face changed suddenly, and he whipped around to look at me. "Beau! I knew it!"

I laughed so hard, and it felt odd to feel something other than despair for once.

I pulled the shield back as I watched Grace reach out to grab Kirill's arm. And then, with a loud yelp, Grace's knees buckled, and she tumbled to the floor. Her head smacked on the edge of the granite countertop with a sharp cracking noise. The crack was in the granite, though, I was sure.

It was shocking to watch. My instinct recoiled against seeing an immortal incapacitated like that. It was so wrong…

"Told ya!" Kirill laughed.

Grace's eyes swam for a second as she regained her composure. She stared at Kirill with wide eyes, and a smile lit her face.

"Wow…" she said. "You… are one amazing guy. You know that?"

"That's what I hear." Kirill's face looked smug.

I rolled my eyes.

"Does it only work in your hands?" Grace asked with enthusiasm.

"Hmmm…" he thought. "Maybe you should find out." Kirill grabbed Grace's wrist and pulled her hand toward his chest.

Grace squealed with laughter as she pulled her hand away. _"All_ over your body, huh? Sounds interesting…" Her voice took on a more seductive inflection.

And with that turn of events, I was out.

"Beau…" Edythe whispered to me when I walked back into the main room.

"Yeah?"

"Pretty soon we are going to have to start staking out in the clearing where Archie saw them coming so that we can be prepared. How about we head over to the cottage for the night?"

I suppose she was right. There wasn't much left now but the dreadful waiting. And I wanted to spend just as much one-on-one time with her as she did with me. For all we knew, the opportunities for this were coming to a close.

I had already decided days ago that I refused to have a last grand scene of farewell with Edythe. Speaking the words would just make it final. It would basically be the same as writing _The End_ on the last page of a book… a very short book.

What I did plan, though, was to stay as close to her as possible from now on. Whatever end might find us, it would absolutely not see us separated.

Edythe and I made our way in silence down through the woods to our little house. Everything was exactly how we had left it. The fire had burned itself out, and nothing but the ashes of my book remained.

With everything that had happened lately we hadn't had the opportunity to spend any more time here. It felt nice to be back to ourselves again, but also the wrong thing to be doing in light of what was so quickly approaching.

She relit the fireplace, and we sat down on the couch, her poetry books still stacked on the small table where we left them last. She sat leaning back on me, with her legs wrapped between my legs. I covered my face with my hand. I could almost feel a headache coming on.

"It's so strange," I said to cut the silence. My voice was just a murmur. "Right now, I feel like I have the energy to destroy an entire house, but mentally I just feel so… drained."

"It's an odd feeling. I know," she as she leaned closer to me. "How about a warm bath?" She smiled then, and this was the least sad I had seen her in a while. Before I realized the implications, she was already undoing the buttons of my shirt.

"I do believe I know how to take my clothes off," I said.

She laughed. "Yeah, but I just do it so much better."

Though I didn't want to miss any of her affection towards me, the thought of it made me even sadder. It was very possible that this would be taken away from me, and I didn't know when. It could happen tomorrow for all I knew. She must have read the look on my face because she changed the subject.

"Beau…?"

"Yeah?"

"I've had such a bad habit of underestimating you. I give you less credit than you deserve."

I looked into her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"With everything that you've ever faced… you've always been able to just push through it so easily. And in ways I never could have predicted. You did the unexpected every single time. In the back of my mind, I somehow keep anticipating you to just disappear because the world I threw you in finally became too much for you. I was thinking about something today… Did you know that there's a way for you to be guaranteed safety?"

I looked at her incredulously. Had she figured out Archie's plan so easily? "What are you talking about?"

"I realized today that you don't actually have to be involved in this at all. The Volturi don't know who you are. You could so easily just run away and avoid the conflict altogether."

I rolled my eyes. "Edythe, you are truly _absurd_."

She continued as if she hadn't heard me. "And yet, here you are. I can see it in your eyes, your determination to protect us, especially Luca. You are the most unselfish, caring person I've ever met."

"What other choice do I have? Anyone would do the same."

"You're wrong, though." She shook her head. "Your protective instincts are stronger than anything I've ever seen. It's no wonder that shielding is your gift, Beau. From the beginning, you've always been so dead set on protecting everyone you love, no matter the cost. I saw it the first time when you ran off to meet the tracker because you believed your mother was in danger. You didn't alert any of us to what was going on because you'd rather have died than seen one of us hurt."

"Because I would never be able to live with myself if something bad happened to one of you because of me. And if I didn't stand against the Volturi and do everything in my power to thwart them, I'd be allowing that very thing to happen."

She went on. "And now, every time I see you look at Luca, I can sense the dire reverence you have to keep him safe. You look at him the same way you look at me, like you'd jump in front of us to save us no matter what deadly force was coming. You've given him something that so many children never get—a father willing to put his child's life before of his own. But Beau, I don't want you feeling responsible for having to save any of us or sacrifice yourself for us in any way. You're the reason I want to go on living, if that's even what I am. You are the reason I'm insane enough to stand against the most powerful force in the world. You have completed me. Everything I am, every other part of me that doesn't have to do with my inherently monstrous nature, is all because of you."

It was so strange, because I realized perfectly well we were both in mortal danger, but in that moment, I felt _whole_. My lungs filled deep with the scent that came off her skin, and her mouth came crashing down on mine. I could feel her marble body against every plane of me. Her hands memorized my face, the same way mine were tracing hers, and there was no amount of worry in the world that could justify missing out on this. Eventually, when her lips were free, she whispered my name, her voice breaking sharply as she sobbed.

"Oh, Beau…"

"Edythe…" I echoed.

"I love you so much. More than I could ever love anything."

"I love you more than my own life," I promised her. I lifted her face to meet my gaze. "I'm not going anywhere. Not without you. And I don't care where that may be. I will always be with you."

She pursed her lips to speak, but then she conceded. We lay there for a few more moments in a daze, not wanting to ever let go of the thing neither of us could live without.

"I'll go run the bath," she said finally.

The water ran for several minutes before she turned it off, and I heard her sink down into the giant Jacuzzi-style bath. As I was getting into the hot water, our bodies facing each other, she reached for a small remote and turned on the stereo system. I recognized Mozart's _Requiem_ at once.

In an all-too-distant memory, I watched my mother move around our house on a Saturday as she cleaned. For her, no other setting was appropriate for old music. She found cleaning relaxing, so I suppose she listened to it at those times to fit the mood.

I closed my eyes and leaned back for a minute or so, trying to clear my head. Every waking moment of the last several days, all I could do was think about how scared I was. I didn't believe that I would ever be able to feel normal again. I attempted to relax to no avail.

"Edythe, why do our lives have to be in the hands of the Volturi?" I asked.

She looked at me frustrated. "I've already told you why. Their power is so…"

"That's not what I meant." I interrupted. "I'm asking why they deserve to have such power. Why should they be able to be the executionists of our world? Why do _they_ get the supreme authority to say who lives and who dies? That isn't something anyone should have the power to decide."

"If you're asking me how they rose to power, then…"

"Yeah, I guess. I just want to know their story. I want to know why they're so concerned with governing our world if that's even their real place in it. I guess I don't totally understand."

"They weren't always our rulers," she began. "The Volturi came to power around 500 A.D."

"So vampires could just do whatever they pleased before that time?" I questioned. What I wouldn't give to live in the peace before their tyranny.

"Yes and no…" she explained. "In the old days, another group held the title of supremacy. They were called the Dacia. Twelve vampires ruled back then. They came together much like the Volturi did. Several highly ambitious vampires sought to gain power and territory, so they joined forces. They operated much like Sulpicia does. They brought in a whole line of defense so that they couldn't be defeated. But their downfall was that they focused on brute strength. They didn't realize the true potential of psychic abilities and how they could benefit them. Unlike the Volturi, they ruled over both immortal and mortal. Humans for a thousand miles in each direction lived in fear of them. They didn't feel the need to hide what they were."

"So that's where all the human legends were born," I said.

"I believe so. Vampires were well-known to the humans back then. The world was a very different place in those days. But, while this was happening, the Volturi had been reigning over the city of Volterra even before Italy was a country. They always maintained that it would benefit vampires to remain shrouded in secrecy. They believed it would make feeding easier. So what happened was after collecting gifted vampires over a few centuries, the founding members of the Volturi launched an attack on the Dacia. They were respected for doing this because of how they claimed that their ideals would benefit all vampires, and they weren't just simply fighting over territory or power. The Dacia's physical strength was no match for the Volturi's supernatural offense. They were quickly overthrown. When they were all but destroyed, the last two remaining Dacia members surrendered. They're still around as far as I know. They live in Romania. After their rise to power, many questioned the premise of the new laws of secrecy, but over time more and more vampires were born into a world where this was a fact of life, so it's become the standard that no one doubts anymore. They have been trusted as benevolent governors ever since. And as for the humans, their tales died out. Without any evidence of vampire activity, the idea soon became an old scary story. And we've been labeled a part of mythology ever since."

"You said the original members. I think you told me about that once. Before Sulpicia was leader?" I asked.

"Sulpicia isn't technically the leader," she corrected me. "She and Athenodora and Marcus operate unanimously as a triumvirate. It's just that Sulpicia seems to be the one who makes most of the decisions. But you're right. Sulpicia and Athenodora are the wives of the original leaders. Aro, Caius, and Marcus were the ones who defeated the Dacia. They all created their wives shortly after this. But a Aro turned against one of the wives and murdered her. Caius was in on it as well, and Marcus had them executed."

"If only Sulpicia would somehow cross Marcus in the same way…" I said.

"Well… we probably wouldn't be in this mess then. Athenodora and Marcus don't seem to be nearly as interested in adding more to their already invincible elite. But who knows? Our kind is very drawn to power. Believe it or not, most vampires aspire to be accepted by the Volturi because of the title they hold."

The idea repulsed me. I saw the Volturi as the epitome of the world's evil. I couldn't imagine anyone actually _wanting_ to join their forces. I'd always assumed their guard were all forced into it because their lives depended on it. Then I recalled how Carine had once been a part of them.

"Why the hell did Carine ever stand with them?" I asked.

"Well, for the longest time, Carine always saw vampires as ravenous monsters. She remained in solitude for much of her life until she discovered the Volturi. It was a few years before the American Revolution. She admired that they were so refined and cultured. They were civil, unlike all the other vampires she had met. And since they held so much power, she thought she might be able to do something good with her curse and convince the Volturi to demand that all vampires adopt the animal diet. She tried persuading them for twenty years or so, but they just scoffed at the idea. That's why she left them and came to America."

I could only imagine what Sulpicia saw of my family. We were a mockery of the immortal race. But more importantly, a collection of supernatural gifts that would enable us to spread our 'twisted' ways to the rest of the vampire world. We were seen as a threat. And they didn't even know our full potential yet.

Sulpicia would realize what a momentous accusation this whole immortal child thing was, and it would easily cover up her true intentions. And they would come for us.

Worst of all was the waiting. Although this body had no need for oxygen, I felt like I was suffocating. I wished Edythe would have lied to me and convinced me that we'd be safe forever. I wanted her to tell me we would live. I wanted nothing more than the fear to just end so that I could feel alive again. I wanted my life back to living for her—living for love.

With no conscious thought, all my fears turned to rage as I wrapped Edythe up protectively in my head, pulling her underneath the shield with me.


	27. FORGERY

24\. FORGERY

Two more days passed with no sign of the Volturi. Several of our friends had taken the nomads on a vegetarian hunt. They agreed just as Benji and Tiago had, promising to try it at least once.

Today, a few of us sat discussing strategies of what we should say to present our case to the Volturi. It reminded me of how a defense team prepared arguments for a court case. Much to Eleanor's discontent, Edythe always argued that we weren't making any sort of battle plan. She likened the situation to a game of chess, where we had to make moves of wits and strategy and analyze the situation like a chess board, rather than a battlefield.

I was so caught up in the conversation, I almost didn't notice the low commotion starting in the front yard. Edythe was the first to jump to her feet as usual, and I could hear Carine outside speaking in a surprised tone.

"Who sent you here?" Carine asked someone.

"We sent ourselves," said a woman's strange, wispy voice. She had a foreign accent that I didn't recognize.

"Word travels quickly," another woman said in a voice so similar that I almost didn't notice it was a second person.

I could see the two women now; they were both really short and petite, and both had the same ashy blonde hair that almost looked gray. They had an odd, powdery look to their skin that set them apart from the rest of us. It was if they were soft and fragile, rather than hard as stone. But I knew otherwise.

When I saw their faces, though, I realized why they had sounded so similar. They were biological twins. They looked like exactly the same person, only in different clothes.

The second woman spoke again. "A little birdy told us the Volturi were moving against you, and that you planned to challenge them. It appears the rumors are true," she said as her eyes darted around to all of our company.

"No, no, no. There must be some misunderstanding. We are not planning any sort of attack," Carine answered in a strained tone. "What you see here are witnesses. You see, there has been a tremendous accusation against my family, but we haven't actually done—"

"We do not care what you did, Carine," the first voice interrupted. "Whether you broke the law or not, we are eager to see the Italian scum be challenged. We've waited fifteen hundred years for someone to make such an attempt."

"This isn't what you think, Stefani," Carine said. "It is definitely not our intention to challenge the Volturi."

"Then what exactly are your intentions, Carine? Surely you do not expect the Volturi to take this peacefully," the other woman said.

"If you would allow me to explain, Vladimira…"

Carine told the whole story for what seemed like the hundredth time. It didn't make it any easier knowing that this had become sort of routine. I slowly pulled the pieces together over the course of the conversation to realize these were the two surviving members of the Romanian coven, the Dacia.

They took everything in stride, as they were focused on their resentment for what the Volturi had done to them so long ago. They were even more delighted to know about our alliance with the werewolves. Most vampires didn't know they existed.

They were fascinated by the special talents they observed here.

First, they noticed Edythe answering unspoken questions, and their eyes lit up. They were especially thrilled when Kirill showed what he could do. But most of all, they were downright astonished when they witnessed my immunity to both these skills.

Their faces were wide with a burning hope that the Volturi might actually be thwarted for once. We didn't hope for exactly the same things, but at least there was that. At least someone was rooting for us. We could all have some small margin of hope after all.

The Romanians were the only ones who immediately took to the idea that the Volturi were taking advantage of their law for the purpose of personal gain. They were highly amused at how other vampires thought so well of their lifelong enemies.

With so much company around, the atmosphere in the house was always a low humming of voices, many conversations taking place all at once. I felt bad for Edythe when it occurred to me that this was what it was always like for her—a never-ending buzz of voices from everyone within her radius.

Vladimira kept shooting glances in my direction during her conversations with her sister. So it was those two I listened to most of the time.

"I do hope you're right about that young one," she said to Stefani at one point. "I can't imagine how much foothold the Volturi would have with their abilities taken away from them. The word will spread no matter what happens here. I think it's time the world saw the Italians for what they really are. Especially with that mind reader, there's no way everyone could go on believing that nonsense about preserving our way of life."

Stefani nodded along with her sister. "But just think of what will happen if the Volturi come out on top in this conflict," she whispered as if no one would hear. "They will leave with more power than they came with. Think of what that newborn alone could give them… And he's barely even touched his gifts. More than we can afford to have them gain, wouldn't you agree?"

For a second, I wondered what she meant by that, then Vladimira answered my unspoken question.

"That means… we must do what we can to expose them while we have the chance. If their offense isn't able to incapacitate their enemies, they'd be forced to hear out what has to be said. I'm suspecting Sulpicia's witnesses will want proof of Carine's innocence."

"We may not be able to cripple them," Stefani said. "But maybe someday when the truth is out, others will finish the job for us…" she hesitated a moment.

"And our vendetta will finally be paid," they both murmured in unison.

I was starting not to trust the ancient twins. Their agenda seemed to be more for themselves rather than an interest in helping us. I suppose if they were able to bring an end to the Volturi one day, no matter what might happen to us, then at least there would be some sort of consolation prize in the end. Our demise didn't have to mean absolutely nothing.

Of course, everyone in the house had overheard the sisters' conversation.

"Carine," Petrina said as if she were speaking privately with her and the whole room wasn't listening. "I really don't want this to come to a fight."

"Of course," Carine said. "You know that's the last thing I want. All of you must know that," she said as she looked around at the crowded room.

"But you know your wishes won't help you," Charles said blankly. "I would rather not watch my friends be killed."

"We sure as hell won't stand by to be taken out for a crime we didn't commit," Eleanor said, irritated. "But you don't have to stick around. You can leave whenever you so please."

"That goes for all of you," Carine said. "I do not want any of you involved in a physical fight. Know that you are free to go at any moment. I don't want you feeling obligated to do anything. This is already too much for me to ask, just having you here."

And that pretty much ended the drama for the day. Everyone slowly dispersed. Some went off to hunt, others passed the time going through Carine's books or TVs or computers. The Romanians had never used computers before, and they were especially fascinated by them.

"It's intriguing," Stefani said. "The humans and their ever-evolving technologies… It wouldn't surprise me if they were able to devise weapons aimed at destroying us."

"Are you saying you agree with Aro's sacrosanct law of secrecy then, sister?" Vladimira asked teasingly. The law of secrecy, I'd learned, was devised by Sulpicia's late husband, Aro.

"Of course not!" she huffed. "If we still ruled as the Volturi do, the humans never would have acquired so much power. They would see us as gods, much like some of our brethren seem to view the Volturi."

"You know, the humans actually do see Marcus as a saint," Taran said. "Not that they actually realize it. But they do all the same."

"Ah yes, the irony of it all," Stefani rolled her eyes.

"What are they talking about?" I asked Edythe.

"How familiar are you with Christian history? Have you heard of Father Marcus?"

I nodded.

 _"Father_ Marcus is actually Marcus of the Volturi."

"No way," I said in disbelief. "But doesn't Italy have a celebration for Saint Mark every year? Something about ridding all evil from the land?"

"That doesn't mean Saint Mark wasn't vampire himself. Marcus and the other founders of the Volturi are the ones who propagated the idea that they had expelled all the vampires from Italy. It was long ago. That's when they defeated Stefani and Vladimira and the others and started all the legends that humans have about vampires now—the coffins and the crosses and all of that nonsense. Little did the humans know, they were praising the work of an actual vampire."

"Wow, that really is ironic," I said. "They've celebrated every year, but the vampires never actually left."

Stefani and Vladimira went on bickering like they hadn't noticed our amusement.

Edythe, Taran, and I decided to go hunt. Who knew if this would be the last time before it all ended…

"They're so annoying," Taran snorted as we ran. "They think they're so superior. Not to mention their incessant bickering."

We all laughed. "They'll be in for a shock when this newborn does more to stop the Volturi than they've ever done in all of their _superior_ lives." Taran punched my shoulder jokingly.

"Hell yeah, they will," I said. Edythe shot me a disapproving look.

I couldn't help but think about how this could very likely be our last hunting trip. Our deadline wasn't exact, but we had planned to start waiting now in the clearing. We knew Delphia would track either Carine or Edythe to wherever they would be, and we didn't want them all coming so close to town.

I thought about the Volturi's tracker while we ran. I paid little attention to the smell of our prey. I thought about what Edythe had told me about how I could very well be free if I wanted to be. Would Delphia even notice she couldn't track me if she found out about me? What would the Volturi make of that? Or maybe Elena was wrong. There were always those loopholes around my shield. Everything that was beyond the confines of my mind was vulnerable; like Archie's visions and Jessamine's physiological manipulation. Benji could incinerate me in a burst of flames if she so desired. Maybe Delphia's tracking worked outside of the mind, too. And Luca…

I thought of what the Romanian women had said about me rendering all of the Volturi defenseless. And the thought brought me up short. I dropped the elk I had barely even started to drain from my hands. The snowflakes melted where they fell on the warm body. I stared blankly at the blood covering my hands.

Edythe saw my reaction and hurried over to my side.

"What's wrong?" she asked frantically. Her eyes glanced all around us through the trees looking for whatever had triggered my strange reaction.

"What if I can't do it, Edythe!?" I choked out.

"Do what? Beau, what are you talking about?"

"My shield. Do you think it's really enough to save us? Do you think I could actually do anything to help? I know the others are hoping they can trust it. What if I fail? What if their trust in me is the reason we all burn?!"

My voice was on the verge of hysteria. The bloodlust of rage pulsed through me again, and my shield instinctively folded out and coiled tightly around her.

"Beau, I already told you! It's wonderful that you can protect yourself. But I don't want you stressing yourself out over saving anyone. You know I don't want you making a big spectacle of yourself. It could very well be just as dangerous."

"What if I can't even help myself? This thing I do, we haven't practiced with it enough. Maybe it will do nothing against Jasen or Alexandra at all! Then we're all screwed!"

"Shhh," she hushed me. "Don't be ridiculous. What they do is no different than what I do or what Kirill can do. It's all in the mind. It's an illusion."

"But so is what Luca does!" I shouted. "It's not always so straightforward, Edythe. My shield has weak spots. Archie and Jessamine, their gifts have no problem working on me, because they work in a slightly different way. And Luca is so different, he slips right through. Who knows what the Volturi are capable of? I can't imagine anyone has lived long enough to figure these things out."

Of all things, Edythe started laughing in response to my mental breakdown…

"And there you go again, Beau. You're so utterly unpredictable. See, this is what I was talking about. You should be running for your life while you have the chance, but instead, you're distressing yourself over whether or not you're useful enough to us."

"No, _you_ are the one who's being ridiculous!" I barked back at her in frustration. It was weird because it was the only time I'd ever been really furious with Edythe. "You can't honestly tell me you believe that I'm not already wholeheartedly lost in you. If _anything_ is impossible, it would be finding a way to let you go."

"It's what any normal person would do… Anyone who had any sense of self-preservation at all," she sighed.

"Well, you should know by now you've taken my heart. So if I left, I'd be leaving it to die with you," I said. And I suppose the words sounded nice, but I said them in an irritated tone.

For that, Edythe had no answer. Though I was hopefully invisible to Delphia, I knew that I would never be able to leave Edythe's side. My entire hope was riding on the fact that Luca was invisible as well, like Archie seemed to imply.

It was impossible to grasp how much my insignificant life had changed in the last year. My world went from the most textbook example of mundane, to absolutely magnificent, to this… Facing the most powerful force in the world.

In the end, we had come up with thirteen witnesses—Taran, Kirill, Ivan, Lauren, Calvin, Elena, Petrina, Charles, Grace, Toshiro, Alison, Vladimira, and Stefani. This was on top of our family of eight, plus Luca… Other than the Volturi themselves, this was probably the most significant alliance of mature vampires in history.

I couldn't help but feel hopeful somehow. Luca had won over so many in just the limited number of days. Sulpicia had to listen for just a few tiny seconds…

Not all of us hoped for the same things, but hope we did.

It was when I started to think about what day the Volturi could possibly show up, that I realized today was Christmas Eve.

Back at home, I whispered to Edythe through the noise of all the voices. "I know that there isn't time to have much of a Christmas, but I think I should get something for Luca, at least."

"You're right," she said. "I hadn't even thought of that. Let's go to Port Angeles."

"I'll go," I said. "You need to stay here and prepare. I won't be gone long."

I looked at Luca, wondering if I was supposed to bring him with me or not. But if my excuse to leave was Christmas shopping, how would I explain that?

Luca had taken a liking to the strange Romanians for some reason. He made the effort to speak with them out loud only because they wouldn't let him touch them. He had asked them something about their strange skin, and at first, I was afraid they would be offended. But I really wanted to know for myself.

"We held still for a very, very long time, child," Vladimira explained. "We didn't notice at first that we were beginning to petrify. I suppose the Volturi did us a favor when they forced us out of our castles."

I didn't stick around for the rest of the story. I was anxious to see what waited for me in Seattle.

The highway was dark and slick all the way to there, and it would have been seriously dangerous to anyone else. Driving didn't intimidate me anymore, though. My reflexes were well up to the job. I barely paid attention to the road anyhow. The only problem I faced now was that I kept speeding up gradually, attracting attention when I had company. But I needed to be done with today's little escapade. I wanted the mystery to be over. I needed to get back to learning… to protect… and how to kill.

I had taken quick glances at the appropriate maps, and that was all I'd needed. I found my way to the location that didn't exist online, the one for this J. Jenks. My next step would be Janice Jenks at the other address, which Archie had not given me.

To say that this was the ghetto would be an understatement. The most modest of all the Cullens' cars was still outrageous on this street. The old Chevy would have looked normal here. Any human would lock the doors and drive away as fast as possible from this place. Nonetheless, I was amazed… I couldn't picture little Archie in this place for any reason at all.

All of the buildings were mostly apartments. It was hard to tell what color the peeling paint was supposed to be. Everything was faded into various shades of grey. There were few people out, shuffling in the rain or sitting on the shallow porch of a boarded-up law office, reading a wet magazine. The sight was odd for the setting.

I was so bemused by the girl sitting in the rain reading a paper that I didn't realize at first this was the address I was looking for. It wasn't marked as '626', but this was where the number should have been, judging from the adjacent addresses. I needed in there, one way or another… Should I get in without letting the girl notice me? Maybe I could sly my way in through the back. But there might be witnesses on that side, too.

I rolled down the window.

"Hey, dude," the girl called to me.

I turned off the engine as if I couldn't hear.

The girl stood up, and her clothing surprised me. She was way overdressed for this place. The scent hinted at silk. She looked maybe college-age. Her black hair was messy and wild, but her dark skin was smooth and perfect, her teeth white and straight.

"I wouldn't park there, man," she said. "It might not be here when you come back."

"Thanks for the warning," I muttered.

I got out anyway, leaving the doors of the Guardian unlocked. I figured maybe she could give me the answers I needed faster than my original plan.

The girl squinted through the rain at me, and then her eyes widened. She swallowed, and I heard her heart start picking up the pace as I neared. Fear?

"I'm looking for someone," I said.

"Well, I'm someone," she offered with a cheesy smile. "And what can I do for you?"

"Do you know a Mr. Jenks, by chance?"

"Oh…" she said. Understanding flashed across her face. "It's _Miss_ Jenks, actually… And why are you looking for her?" she asked skeptically.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. "I think that's my business." I didn't have a clue, really. "Are _you_ Ms. Jenks?"

"Ha. No…"

I stared at her for a long moment while she eyed me up and down. Her gaze finally met my face again. "You just don't look like… the _usual_ customer."

"I'm probably not the typical," I said. "But I should see her as soon as possible, please."

"I'm not sure what to do," she admitted.

"Do you… work for her?" I asked.

"Yes," she grinned. "I'm Mallory."

"It's nice to meet you, Mallory. So tell me… What exactly do you do for the _usual_?"

She looked wary again. "Well, her clients don't normally look anything like you. Your kind doesn't bother with the downtown office. You just go straight to her fancy office in the skyscraper."

I told her the other address I had found.

"Yep. That's the one," she said. "Why didn't you just go there?"

"A very trustworthy source gave me this one instead."

"If you were up to any good, you wouldn't be here."

Now, I'd never been much good at lying, but Archie left me no other options here. "Maybe I'm not up to any good at all," I said, raising my eyebrows.

"Look, man…"

"Beau."

"Right. Beau. See, I need to keep my job. She pays me really well to mostly just hang here all day. I want to help you out. I really do. But if I pass someone through to her that could get her in trouble, I'm out of work. You see my problem?"

I thought about that for a minute. "You've never seen anyone like me here before? Not even sort of like me? My brother is a lot shorter… and he has really short hair."

"She knows your brother?"

"I'm pretty sure, yeah."

Mallory paused for a second. I smiled at her, and her breathing sped up. "Tell you what… I'll give her a call and describe you. Let her make the decision."

What did this Jenks woman know? Was she a vampire also? Would my description mean anything?

"My last name is Cullen," I told Mallory, wondering if that was too much information. I was starting to get… well, sort of pissed at Archie. Did I really have to be this blind? He could have given me more information.

"Cullen… Got it."

I watched her dial. I guess I could call J Jenks myself if this didn't work.

"Hey, it's Mallory. I know I'm never supposed to call you except in an emergency, but…"

"Is there an emergency?" I heard the woman's voice on the other end of the line.

"Well, no. Not really. It's this guy who wants to see you."

"I fail to see the emergency in that. Why didn't you follow protocol?"

"I didn't 'cause he don't look like the normal kind of—"

"Is he a badge?!"

"Hell no! Now listen…"

"You can't be sure about that. Does he look like one of Kubarev's?"

"No, let me talk! He says you know his brother or something."

"Not likely. What's he look like?"

"He looks…" Her eyes traced up and down my body. "Well, he looks like a freaking male model or something, to tell you the truth." I couldn't help but laugh. She winked at me, then went on. "Perfect build, lean, pretty eyes, pale as a sheet, dark brown hair, needs a good night's sleep… any of this familiar?"

"Not really. I'm not happy that you let your weakness for men interrupt…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a sucker for the hot ones. What's wrong with that? I'm sorry I bothered you."

"Hey! Name," I whispered.

"Oh yeah! Wait," Mallory said. "He said his name is _Cullen_. Does that ring a b—"

The woman was suddenly shouting over the phone. She used a lot of words you didn't often hear women using. Mallory's expression changed suddenly, and her face went white.

"Well, shit! You didn't ask!"

There was a pause.

"Okay… unbelievably good looking… and pale, you said?" Ms. Jenks asked, a tiny bit calmer.

"That's what I said."

What did this woman know about us? Was she one? I wasn't prepared for that kind of confrontation. I bit my lip. What had Archie gotten me into?

Another wave of insults and instructions came over the phone then.

"But you only meet with these clients on Thurs—okay, okay! I'm on it." Mallory snapped the phone shut.

"She wants to see me?" I mused.

Mallory glowered. "You could have told me you were a priority client."

"I… didn't know that I was."

"Yeah, I thought you were a cop," she said. "You don't look like one, but you act kind of weird."

I shrugged.

"Drugs?" she guessed.

"Uh, no," I said with a laugh.

"Mafia?"

"No."

"Diamond smuggling?"

"Is that the kind of people you normally deal with? Maybe you should consider another job."

I had to admit… I was kind of enjoying this. I hadn't interacted with humans much at all, and it was entertaining to watch her.

"All I know is that you've got to be involved in something _real bad_ ," she muttered.

"It's not like that."

"That's what they all say. But who else needs docs? Or can afford Janice? None of my business, though…"

She gave me another address and directions and watched me drive away with regretful eyes.

At this point, I was ready for pretty much anything. I pictured some kind of James Bond villain's high-tech lair. I pulled up into an open parking spot and looked up at the sign that simply read JANICE SCOTT, ATTORNEY AT LAW.

Why would Archie send me to a lawyer? Surely, I had the wrong J Jenks. I went in anyway, hoping to find some sort of clue.

The office was beige… unremarkable. And there was no vampire scent to be found. I relaxed a little. Nothing but human. A fish tank was on the wall, and a blond receptionist sat at the desk."

"Hi," she said. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here to see, uh, Miss Scott."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"I don't think so."

"It might be a while then. Why don't you take—"

"Patricia!" a woman's demanding voice yelled from the speakerphone on her desk. "Is that Mr. Cullen?"

I nodded at her.

"Yes?"

"Send him in immediately!"

I could hear something in her voice. Stress? Nerves? What was this?

"Right away, Ms. Scott!" She got to her feet and led me down a short hallway, offering me coffee, tea, etcetera… I thanked her for the offer and made my way into the office.

I examined the woman behind the desk closely, and she eyed Patricia. The receptionist made a hasty retreat when she realized she wasn't welcome.

The woman was short and round, probably around fifty or so. She wore a red blouse with a white shirt. She was… trembling. Sweat beaded on her forehead. I imagined an ulcer burning in her stomach.

Janice rose from the chair uneasily. She reached out to greet me.

"Ah, Mr. Cullen. What a pleasure it is to meet you."

Crap. The handshake… I crossed over to her slowly and quickly shook her hand once. She flinched at the cold contact but didn't seem particularly surprised.

"Janice… Or do you prefer Ms. Scott?"

"Honey, you can call me whatever you like. Please, sit."

"How about you call me Beau, and I'll call you Janice?"

She agreed with a nod. "Well, Beau, I must ask, am I finally meeting Mrs. Jessamine's dashing husband?"

I let the words sink in for a minute. So she knew Jess, not Archie. Knew her, and seemed to be afraid of her… "I'm her brother-in-law, actually."

She pursed her lips. "I trust Mrs. Jessamine is in good health?" she asked carefully.

"I'm sure she's in excellent health. She seems to be on an extended vacation at the moment…"

This seemed to clear something up for her. She nodded and fiddled her fingers. "Certainly. You should have come to the main office. My assistants there would have put you straight through to me… No need to go through the less hospitable channels." She laughed nervously.

"No worries, Janice."

She relaxed in her chair. "Well, now that you are here… What can I do for you?"

I scrambled through the clues I had picked up so far.

"Documents." It was the first thing that popped into my head after hearing what Mallory had let slip earlier.

"Of course," Janice agreed. "Are we talking about birth certificates, death certificates, drivers' licenses, passports, SSC's…?"

I took a deep breath and sighed in relief. I got it now; fake ID's and documents to travel. This was where Jessamine performed all of the Cullens' necessary criminal activity to be able to matriculate from place to place without a trace. This was meant for Luca and me.

But if I wasn't going, who would take Luca out into the world? Who could he run with? I couldn't just stick him on a plane alone… And no other vampire could go with him.

All of the secrecy was to stay out of Edythe's head about this. No… to stay out of Sulpicia's head. If we lost, she would certainly get the information she craved before she destroyed Edythe.

The sinking feeling crushed me. We couldn't win. Archie could see that. We'd have to take a shot at Delphia though before…

All my hope faded. My eyes pricked.

Who would I put this on?

I had to hesitate for a moment, and Janice seemed to get worried at my silence. When she opened up her mouth to speak, I made my snap decision. There was only one other kind of being I could hope Delphia wouldn't be able to trace.

"I need two birth certificates, two passports, and one driver's license," I said, trying to sound confident.

"Certainly. And what are the names?"

"Julie… Julie _Wolfe_. W-O-L-F-E," I spelled out. "And… Luca Wolfe." Julie would appreciate the Wolfe thing.

Her pen scratched swiftly across the legal pad. "Middle names?"

I thought again for a split second.

"Bonnie... and Charlie."

"Sounds good. Ages?"

"Twenty for the girl, five for the boy." Julie could pull it off. She looked way more mature now than she did when I first met her. And at the rate Luca was growing, I'd better estimate high. He could be her son. They had similar skin tones.

"I need both their parents' information for the birth certificates," she said like I was missing something obvious. Forgery was clearly not my expertise.

"Eh, you can make that up. It won't make much difference."

"Sure. And I'll need pictures if you prefer finished documents," she said. "But Mrs. Jessamine usually liked to finish them herself."

"Hold on," I said.

This was sheer luck. I had some pictures shoved into my wallet, and one of them was perfect—Luca just days ago, sitting on the front porch steps with Royal. Wait, Archie saw that I would have this… Maybe not so much luck. But what about Julie?

"Here you go." I gave Janice the picture. "I trust that you can track down a photo for the girl… Do you have the means to do that?"

Janice chuckled. "Of course."

"Her actual name is Julie Black."

"Black… Got it. And what is her home address?"

I was so thankful for the eidetic memory now. "5351 Hollins Drive in La Push, Washington."

"And is this man the father?" She pointed to Royal in the picture as she smiled. "He looks very much like him."

Honestly, I saw no resemblance. But I remembered how all vampires looked similar to humans in some way. That's why it was so easy to believe the Cullens were actual siblings.

"No. Luca is… very close to our family."

"Forgive me," she mumbled as she began scratching with the pen again. "How soon will you need these?"

I paused. I had no idea how long I would have.

"Um, how soon can I get them?"

"How soon do you _need_ them?"

"Er… Would a couple of days be possible?"

She contemplated for a second. "I can normally do three days. Of course, that's an expedited order, and with tomorrow being a holiday it will cost twice as…"

I shoved two stacks of hundred-dollar bills onto the desk. I'd stolen the cash from Carine's study. It wasn't like anyone would be able to use the money anyway once we were all dead.

"This should take care of it. Just give me a number."

She gawked at the cash. Then she seemed hesitant to say the number out loud.

"Beau, you don't have to pay me now. It's customary for you to wait to ensure delivery."

"I trust you. So I'll meet you here on the twenty-seventh? Same time?"

"Actually, I prefer to make transactions in places unrelated to my business."

"Oh, sure. Wherever you want. Just let me know."

"Shall we meet at eight o'clock Tuesday night at The Pacifico? It's on Union Lake, and the food is exquisite. I'll buy."

"Perfect." I rose and shook her hand again. "I'll see you in then. Thank you so much, Janice."

It would have been nice to have Edythe here so that I could know what Janice thought of us. I sighed. Keeping all of this a secret was bad enough. And keeping something away from Edythe was even worse.

I was out the door before Janice even noticed I was gone.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

My chapter playlist soundtrack is now up on Spotify! Check it out!

Be sure to remove the spaces from the link: spoti. fi/ 2UOvmKQ


	28. DECLARATIONS

25\. DECLARATIONS

I could hear the piano before I was out of the car. It was the first time Edythe had played since Archie left. I recognized the song immediately—the same one she'd sung when Luca was first born.

Speaking of the little guy, I found him fast asleep on the couch, which came as no surprise. The days had been so long for him lately.

I walked slowly through the house, and I could almost feel the hope and uplift that everyone else felt. I tried to match their aura and not draw suspicion. No one could know what I had just done today.

"Did you find anything interesting?" Edythe asked.

"Yeah, I did, actually. Sorry I was gone so long. It took me a while to find the right thing." I shrugged.

"I can't believe I hadn't even thought of it. We can make an event out of it if you want."

"No," I said. "I just wanted to have something to give to him before…" I let my voice trail off.

"Do I get to see?"

I looked at Luca's sleeping face, and I envied him. He was far away from here, in whatever dream world vampire hybrids ran off to, leaving this broken world behind. It would be nice to be able to escape reality for once, if even for a moment…

My adventure today hadn't been entirely unproductive. I had to make it look as if I'd spent all that time searching for a gift. I pulled it from my pocket. It was rectangular, with an embossed pattern that ran along the edges. It was attached to a necklace.

When the golden medallion opened, it folded out like a book. Inside was an inscription of a cross and a poem written in a fluid script font.

Edythe found the little catch and opened it up.

"When I saw this, it was just too perfect. Something to always remind him of his mother," I explained. "She would have loved him so much."

Edythe read the tiny inscription quietly to herself.

" _Though unable to perceive the shape of you, I find you all around me. Your presence fills my eyes with your love. It humbles my heart, for you are everywhere, and forever with me_."

"Beau…" she breathed. "That's absolutely beautiful. It is perfect."

She stared at me with her burning topaz eyes. I met her gaze for a moment, but quickly, I felt like she was detecting some hint of the lie. I pretended to be distracted by something on the TV.

"I hope he likes it."

"He's going to love it," she said. I could tell immediately from her general lack of words that she knew that I was withholding something. But she didn't ask for the specifics.

"I really think we need to practice some more with Eleanor." I'd wasted the whole afternoon with my trip. I felt so behind.

"Beau, there's plenty of time for that later."

I couldn't help but jeer her. "Oh, please. Like there's such thing as enough time anymore, Edythe. I can't be too prepared. I have a lot to learn still, and…"

Her glare cut me short. "Not right now."

I didn't even know if I'd be able to focus on training if I was being honest with myself. I tried to think positively. There was a fairly good chance that Luca was going to live. He would escape far from here with Julie. She was the only one I could ever trust outside our family who was also more than capable of protecting him.

It wasn't the end for everyone after all. It was just the end of the Cullens. The end of Edythe, and the end of me.

On Christmas Day, there was just one person receiving gifts. Luca put the shiny pendant around his neck immediately when I'd given it to him at dawn. Edythe gave him a tiny portable music player already filled with five thousand songs.

I hoped I could provide him and Julie the things they needed before it was too late. I'd leave a note for Julie and put it with the documents to give to Luca. I'd write him a letter, too. Something for him to read when we were no longer in his life…

And just thinking of that frustrated me. Because there was no way I could ever tell him all the things I would ever need to say in just one letter. I needed to write an entire book in just a few days' time. There was so much I'd be leaving him without.

As soon as I found some alone time, I started to gather things up. But I kept stopping to stare at each of Luca's belongings with a sadness that I hadn't known my heart could hold; I wasn't getting much accomplished. I was utterly lost in this trance of desolation until I realized that I wasn't alone.

When I turned, Alison was stepping silently into the room with me. I almost jumped when I saw her—I wasn't expecting to see anyone up here, especially not the reclusive vampire who hadn't socialized at all even with Carine, let alone me.

Alison cleared her throat. "It's a romantic notion, isn't it? That a righteous few can defy a great evil. I must admit, you even had me believing." She chuckled lightly, then her tone changed. "Well, perhaps for a moment, at least… Good luck to you."

I couldn't think of anything else to say, so after a few awkward moments, all that came out was, "Um, thanks."

She turned her back to me as she started to walk from the room. "You're going to need it. Cheers."

I never saw her again.

Just a few minutes later, I heard Carine's troubled voice downstairs. "Alison is gone."

"Where did she go?" Earnest asked.

"I have no idea. She never said she was leaving. I'm afraid she decided the danger was too much for her."

"Alison was the only sane one," Toshiro muttered. "We should all be running with her."

"Toshiro, if you want to go, no one is forcing you," Carine said calmly.

"I'm only joking, Carine. Don't worry. I will witness for you."

"Alison worried that no matter how indisputably we prove ourselves, the Volturi will not listen. She thinks they will contrive their way into achieving the ultimate goal," Carine explained.

Everyone looked around the room at each other.

"If so, we will fight," Stefani said. "We can all but assure you the Volturi will overstep their authority here. We do not stand for what they represent."

"Well, this won't be the first time I've had to join the fight against a king's rule," Grace said. "Freedom from oppression!"

Edythe had told me the story of how then-human Grace had disguised herself as a man in order to fight as a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The desire to rebel was deeply rooted in who she was.

"I stand with Carine," Toshiro declared.

"We have decided we will fight with you," Taran added.

"We have not decided," Petrina said. Charles looked at her uneasily.

In the midst of the declarations, Edythe sighed. "Dammit… What is _she_ doing here?" She walked off toward the front door.

I followed her outside.

Julie was standing there alone, completely healed from her injuries. I couldn't believe my eyes.

"Tell me what all of this is about with what the psychic saw," she said.

Edythe groaned. "I told Sam not to get involved. This problem is much bigger than anything you want to bargain with. A very large clan of our kind will come here very soon."

She narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Complications in our world regarding Luca," Edythe answered. "Our kind has a form of government, if you will, a group of leaders. And they believe that Luca is a human child that we have bitten. Creating an immortal child is punishable by death. They come to execute us."

Julie stiffened. "How many of them are there? Will Forks be in danger?"

"They aren't coming to hunt. As I said, they've come to kill us. But we estimate there are forty or so of them."

 _"Forty?"_ Julie interjected. "And you think we'll just stand by while they slaughter the whole town? Not a chance. We have a duty to protect the people."

"Julie, I am telling you now…"

"We will take care of them," Julie shrugged, not grasping the weight of the situation.

"No, you won't," Edythe said coldly. "I want you to listen to me very carefully, Julie Black. The Volturi are the very essence of our kind, the real reason your hair stands on end when you smell one of us. They are the substance of your worst nightmares, the very dread behind your instincts. Think of them as an army of vampire warriors with sinister, formidable abilities far worse than your wildest imagination."

Julie's response to the words was easy to read. Her teeth clenched together, goosebumps rose on her arms, and her nostrils flared. She actually contemplated what Edythe was saying. "Then just what do you plan to do about it? When is this happening?"

"We have things lined out…" Edythe said. "They'll come in a few days."

"The tribe will never agree to stay out of it with so many bloodsuckers in the area. We will all be there to make sure nothing gets out of hand. We will do whatever is necessary to make sure they never get to the humans. And, if needed, we will keep them away from the kid. But if these leeches fight you, that is none of our business. We will not step in their way, but we will also not let them near the people."

"Julie!" Edythe scolded. "You aren't listening to what I'm saying. If you stand there with us, you all will die. There is no doubt about that."

"I think you underestimate us… I will speak with Sam."

"Wait…" Edythe called. But she was already gone.

Everyone inside reacted with distaste to the news about the wolves. "We can't sentence the Quileutes to death along with us!" Carine said.

"They won't fight with us," Edythe said. "We will let them decide to stand with us if they wish."

"Those wolves will stop them in their tracks if nothing else will!" Vladimira said giddily.

"I just hate to bring them into this mess," Carine complained.

This was actually working out quite well for my plan. Julie would already be there in the clearing. I could send her away with Luca at a moment's notice. The biggest problem was that she couldn't know her involvement in my plan until she had no other choice, no time to think about it.

Two days later, it was time to meet Janice again.

I grabbed the keys to Edythe's Volvo and tried to quietly sneak out the garage.

"Headed out?" I heard Edythe call out to me.

Dammit. She never missed a thing, did she?

"I won't be gone long," I said, closing the door behind me before she could respond.

I sped away in the Volvo. I looked down at the odometer. Would she see the numbers and piece it together? Would she be able to figure out what I was doing? She'd probably been speculating what I was up to ever since I burned the book in the cottage.

It was already dark out as I sped to Seattle. I started to work out the reasons Archie had sent me to where Janice referred her shadier clients. If I had gone to her main office to begin with, would I have even known what to ask for? He was sending me down a route that made it clear I was up to something illegal.

The restaurant looked busy when I pulled into the parking lot. I was fifteen minutes early, so I braced myself for more of the coming depression and went to wait inside for Janice.

"Name?" the woman at the podium asked.

"Um, Jenks," I said.

The woman led me upstairs to a more private dining area with a fireplace.

Janice wasn't at the table yet, so I stood next to the fire, warming my hands while I waited for the unavoidable handshake.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Janice said as soon as she walked in.

She took my hand, and it still didn't seem to bother her.

"I must say, you are a lot different than working with Mrs. Jessamine… Much less unsettling." She smiled hesitantly.

"Oh, really?" I asked. "That's funny. I often find that Jess has a very soothing presence."

Her eyes widened. "Is that so?"

I wondered what Jessamine had done to this woman.

"Have you known Jess long?" I asked.

"Do you want to know the truth?" she asked as she looked around for people listening.

"Go for it."

"I've been working with Mrs. Jessamine for more than ten years, and my old partner knew her ten years before that. So I should say she is… unusually well-preserved."

"Oh…" I said. "She's funny that way, I guess."

"I have a working theory about that," Janice said. Her eyes flitted around again to make sure no one could hear.

"And what is that?" I asked tentatively.

Janice leaned in closer to whisper conspiratorially. "Call me crazy, but… a woman of her years shouldn't be so…"

"Young?" I answered.

Janice nodded. "I'm not sure how long you've known her, but have you not noticed how she never changes? I don't know what has caused it—something unnatural, if you believe in that sort of thing. Maybe a radioactive isotope… Struck by lightning… Sold her soul to the devil… My guess is as good as yours. I've heard the stories of beautiful women who find a way to never grow old. Whatever this fountain of youth may be, it has her frozen in time, and that's why she has always been on the run. I know that Jessamine has needed such services ever since my partner started her practice in the eighties. Most likely, she's avoiding the FBI. They're onto her."

I couldn't help but laugh at her conspiracy. "Wow. That's a very elaborate theory. But I wouldn't think too hard about it, Janice. I know that Jess is really into skin care. She uses an expensive face cream—from France, I think. But then again, I suppose I haven't known her as long as you have."

Janice shook her head, clearly not buying into the power of cosmetics. "Nonetheless, won't you have a seat, Beau?"

"I'm actually in a bit of a hurry, Janice. I don't have time to stay for dinner." As I spoke, I pulled another two stacks of hundreds from my jacket pocket.

"Oh…" she said a little disappointed. "Well, I was actually hoping we could address a particular concern of mine for a moment."

"About?"

"Allow me to show you your items, first," she said as she held one finger up. "I want to make sure everything is in order."

She opened up a briefcase on the table and pulled out a big manila envelope.

I took it and gave everything a quick glance. Janice had found a photo of Julie—it looked like a school picture. She looked a lot younger than she did now. It would have to do, though. There wasn't any time to fix that.

When I glanced at Luca's picture on his passport, a lump rose in my throat.

"Thank you," I said, and I had to avert my eyes.

She looked at me nervously, obviously troubled that my examination wasn't more thorough.

"There was something else you wanted to tell me?" I asked.

"Um, yes… It's a bit delicate, Beau." She gestured for me to sit next to her at the table.

I obliged. What did she know?

"You are the brother of Mrs. Jessamine's husband? Or married to her sister?"

"Both, actually," I muttered.

She raised her eyebrows in confusion.

"I'm joking, of course…" I said quickly. "But let's not talk about me. What is it that's bothering you, Janice?"

She smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said.

"Just say whatever you need to. You won't offend me."

"It's just that…" she started. "Well, I must say, I would sleep a lot better tonight if you could just promise me that you are not planning to kidnap the little boy…"

Oh… So that's what all the suspicion was about. I gave a little nervous laugh that probably didn't help my case. "No, Janice. It isn't like that at all. I promise."

The expression she gave me didn't seem reassured. So I offered her the best explanation I had. "We adopted him recently—his parents died. And I'm just preparing a safe place for him in case something similar were to happen to my family."

Janice's forehead wrinkled. She still wasn't entirely relaxed. "It seems you are expecting something to happen?"

"We just…" I had to look away again. I stared up at the ceiling. "It's a little bit complicated at the moment. I'm sorry, but that's all I'm at liberty to explain."

Janice must have read the resentment in my tone because her tense expression faded.

"No, it is none of my business anyhow," she said as she closed the briefcase. "I wish you the best of luck with whatever the trouble is, and… Oh, yes, dear… If Mrs. Jessamine were to ask me what names I put on these documents, what should—"

"Tell her immediately," I answered more quickly than was probably necessary. "If you ever see Mrs. Jessamine again, I would like nothing more than for her to be fully aware of our transaction."

"Very well," she said. "And you're sure I can't make you stay for dinner?"

"I'm sorry. I really do have to go."

"Well, again, my best wishes to you all. Call me if you ever need anything else, Mr. Cullen."

"Thank you so much, Janice."

The return trip with my contraband took a lot less time. It was pitch black, and very few cars were out on the open highway. I cut the headlights and pushed the Volvo to its limits.

I noticed when I opened the garage that the Ferrari and Archie's Porsche were missing. The 'normal' vampires were going as far away as possible to feed. Again, I tried not to think of their victims.

Kirill and Grace were in the front room arguing about the point of sticking to animal blood. I guessed Grace had attempted the alternative hunting style and hadn't liked it much.

I didn't see Edythe anywhere right away, so I took her absence to my advantage and headed upstairs to Archie and Jess' room. It was the first time anyone had set foot in here in a while; I could tell by the lack of our scents. I dug around in their closet until I found a small black backpack that must have been Archie's. It was small enough that Luca could carry it. Then I opened all of their drawers until I found their hoard of cash. I grabbed what I judged to be roughly the average annual income for the typical American household. I tossed the stacks into the bag along with the envelope of fake IDs and passports. I zipped it closed and sat down on the bed, looking pitifully at the backpack.

It was all I could give him to save his life. I put my head between my knees, feeling helpless. But there was nothing else I could do for him.

Then I started to think…

Why wouldn't Archie and Jessamine be able to help Luca? Surely Archie had something in store for him. He'd plan to reunite with him in the future. Luca would have the best possible protection then.

But both Luca and Julie were Archie's blind spots. How would he ever find them?

I groaned in frustration as I thought about that for a moment, and then I rushed over to the wooden desk and grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen. I stared at the paper for a good minute or so, visualizing giving all of these things to Luca and Julie and sending them away.

Archie could see the consequences of _my_ actions, nonetheless. My decisions were well within his radar.

I deliberately wrote _EGYPT_ in gigantic capital letters on the page as, again, I pictured Luca and Julie fleeing there.

Egypt was perfect. They could find Ati and possibly even Luca's father. Their first job would be to continue searching out the legends to get more information about what he was.

When I was certain my intentions were clear, I ripped up the paper, leaving no trace of it to be found. I clenched my teeth together, fighting the urge to scream in frustration a how this was my only choice. But it was better that Luca go on without us.

Next, I did my best to write Julie some sort of instructions.

 _Jules, my old friend._

 _You're the only person I could ever trust with this._

 _Use the money and documents to travel as far with him as you need. Go to Egypt, first. Find Carine's friends there. Archie and Jessamine should eventually meet up with you. And look for Luca's father. Maybe he can help you learn what you need to know._

 _Also, if the day ever comes that it's safe to return, take him to meet Charlie. Tell him the whole story someday. Make sure he knows how much I loved him, how I couldn't bear to leave him to think I was dead. He was the best father. Pass my love on to Renée, with all my hopes that she will be happy and well._

 _Take care of my son._

 _Beau._

I folded the note neatly and carefully slid it underneath the contents of the backpack.

It was going to happen soon. We were going to start waiting in the clearing tomorrow. The snow looked like it could stick at any moment now. I imagined how Delphia would be tracking Carine or Edythe, or both. What would they make of the fact that we weren't running away? Surely, they'd know that we had advance warning. Would they even feel cautious that we were standing our ground?

Edythe never asked me what I had gone to do today. I could tell she knew that whatever I was up to, I couldn't let her know about it. She was very quiet now. It was like she was too afraid to speak.

Tonight would presumably be the last night Luca would stay in this house. I decided to tell him a story as he fell asleep for what could possibly be the last time ever.

Since we couldn't be around to influence him anymore, I knew it was important to make him see the value in the life we chose to live with Carine, and for him to know why he should never become the what the others are.

"Why aren't we reading a book?" he asked as I tucked him into the covers of his bed.

"Because I'm going to tell you a special story tonight," I explained. "It's a story from me to you."

His eyes lit up with curiosity. "What's it about?"

I thought for a moment how to premise this. "Well, it's about life… and death."

I could barely concentrate on the story. My brain was on autopilot as I recalled the past events. My mind was far from here, in a snowy field somewhere.

I started telling from the very beginning, like I was reading it from a book. I told him how there was once a human boy who moved to a new town and met a girl who was different from other people. The boy eventually learned that this girl was a vampire, even though no one else knew about it. This vampire was unique, though. She and her family didn't kill in the way all the others of their kind did.

I told him how the boy and the girl fell deeply in love with each other despite the girl's intense desire for his blood. She couldn't drink is blood because she knew killing him would be wrong. That's not what she wanted. So the girl learned how to overcome what she was, no matter how much pain it caused her, because she loved this human boy's life so much.

I could tell Luca hadn't caught on at this point—he knew very little about me, so the story didn't sound connected to my life. It really made me happy how much he seemed to enjoy hearing about the couple's experience with first love and their impossible relationship.

His smile turned to a frown when my story took a sharp turn for the worse. "And then one day came along this other, more sinister vampire who had no respect for human life. She was a hunter, and she started a game of chasing the boy while the good vampires protected him. She would never give up until his blood was hers, and she would kill anyone who got in the way of what she wanted."

"But why?" Luca interrupted. "Why did the hunter want him so badly?"

I shrugged. "Most vampires think differently than we do. She didn't like how the good guys protected this human. She thought that was wrong."

Luca's expression was dumbfounded. "How is that wrong?"

"I don't understand it either. Evil people believe things that are wrong. But the human boy knew how evil she was, and what she was capable of doing. If she couldn't get to him, she would soon go after the people he loved. So he decided that his only choice was to give up the game and give his life so no one would be hurt."

Luca narrowed his eyes like he didn't believe me. "What really happened to him, though?" he pressed, and I could tell then how he was expecting a certain outcome. "How does the story end?"

"The hunter bit him," I answered, "and the others killed her for it. But the boy had to become what they were to be able to stay with the girl he loved. He chose this life despite the fact he was going to leave his human family behind forever."

Luca just stared at me for a long moment, thinking it all over. Then he reached up and touched my cheek. There was an image of my own face, and then Edythe's.

I nodded once.

Luca's mouth hung open in amazement, and I thought he was about to show me something more. But then he pulled his hand away and spoke out loud. "One day, I want to love someone as much as you love her."

I couldn't help but smile then as I stared down at the floor. "And so you will, Luca," I said as I nodded. "I wish nothing but the very best for you."

"Wow," he muttered as he thought my story over. "I wish I could be that brave."

I met his awestruck gaze the. "Trust me. You're going to be… I'm counting on it. But you have to be very careful."

He tilted his head skeptically. "What do you mean?"

"Sometimes it's our own bravery for the people we love most that destroys us in the end…"

I couldn't expect him to understand just yet. But I knew he would always remember every word of this conversation.

I watched him as his eyes drooped, and he started to settle in to fall asleep. But as I shifted to get up off the bed, he reached out and touched my arm. I leaned back toward him. "What is it?"

He touched my face again. Archie and Jessamine popped up in my head this time.

"We still don't know," I said, and I had to suppress another lump in my throat. "I don't know where they are."

His eyes were huge as he read the agony on my face. "Uncle Archie and Aunt Jess aren't coming back, are they?"

I shook my head, looking away at the wall. I sighed. "No, it doesn't look like it."

He was quiet again for a moment.

"Did they run away… because we're all going to die?"

I turned around swiftly to look him dead in the eyes. _"No,"_ I said. "I don't want you to believe that for one minute."

My abrupt answer was harsh enough that it startled him. I put his arm back down to his side. "What _I_ believe is that they left to keep us safer somehow. Archie knows better than anyone how to avoid danger, and he is out there planning what's best for us… What's best for _you_."

Which reminded me.

I pulled the small backpack out from under his bed. I slipped one last letter into it that I had written for him—some piece of us for him to hold on to when we were all dead. The note was essentially a recap of everything I was about to tell him, but it would never be enough. Still, it was better to give him what I could while I had the chance. And if I were being honest with myself, it would be too late if I waited any longer. Our precious time was up.

I grabbed the gold medallion off the bedside table and opened it up to show him the inside. "Luca, there's something I want you to always remember."

He looked down at the pendant's inscription. I could tell he hadn't known it could open up.

"I want you to always remember your mother—your _birth_ mother—whenever you see this. She will always be with you, watching over you as you go through life."

I sighed as I felt the weight of what I was doing.

"Listen to me, Luca… Please know that I love you more than anything," I whispered. "All of us do… But when the time comes soon, you're going to have to leave us."

His eyes bulged out in shock. "No…!" he cried out as tears welled up in his eyes. "We're a family… We're supposed to always be together!"

"Shhh…" I said to calm him down. "In our _hearts,_ we will always be together," I corrected him. "No matter what happens to the rest of us, we will always be a family. But you have to do this for me. Please?"

His throat was tight with emotion, so he reached up to touch my temple. The silent ' _no'_ was louder than if he had screamed it.

"Yes…" I insisted. I had to look away again.

He pressed his fingers harder. _Why?_

I had to take a pause, fighting back against the lump in my throat again. Otherwise I was going to lose it, and I couldn't do that in front of him. How should I expect him to be brave if I allowed him to see how shattered I was?

"Try not to think about it until it's time, okay?"

He nodded once.

"I want you to promise me something, Luca."

"What?" His voice was barely a whisper.

"I'm only doing this because I have no other choice. You aren't safe here with us anymore." I pushed the backpack toward him. "Don't open this yet. But everything you will need is in here. You are going to go very far way soon, to stay will Uncle Archie and Aunt Jess. You need to go where my instructions say and wait for them there. They'll help you to find out more about yourself. You need to track down your birth father."

His eyes widened again. "But why aren't you coming with me?" he begged desperately.

"I just can't. You'll understand soon. I promise. But I also need you to swear to me you won't ever forget us. When you see the medallion, think of us. Think of your mother… No matter how alone you feel, you'll never be alone. You understand?"

"Yes…" he choked out in a small, reluctant voice.

"And Luca, I don't want you to worry about any of this. You are going to live a long, happy life. You don't need to be scared. Archie and I have found you a way out. The bad people will try to look for you, but they can never find you. I can't be sure about the rest of us, but you _will_ go on. Promise me that…"

He shook his head in protest. "Why can't I just come back home when—"

My voice grew harsher as I cut him off. "You can never go back. I won't be there anymore. Edythe won't be there anymore. None of us will. But I want you to stay strong for me no matter what happens. You're going to grow up to be so strong, and brave. You have a brilliant mind. In fact, you're already the bravest, strongest, smartest kid I've ever met. You have a remarkable gift, Luca, and as you go through your life, you'll find those who can help you, along with the resources you will need to master your abilities. You could be an unstoppable force to reckon with if you learn how to refine your talent and push it to the limits. I've seen a glimpse of what you could be capable of—you've already saved us from our enemies before."

He looked at me with a terrified, confused expression.

"You'll get it one day. You'll know what I mean. Very soon, you are going to see meet this Volturi clan. You'll see what they really are… And, Luca, they don't deserve what they have. The leaders of our world have gotten entirely out of hand, and they need to be stopped. You'll see soon who they really are underneath their false pretenses, what their true intentions are. They aren't the keepers of peace like they want us to think. The Volturi are nothing but a colossal power play, and they need to be stopped before they can tear apart even more families like ours. The murder and imprisonment have to _stop_. They're no good for this world, no good for our kind. They're going to prove that for you when you see what they're about to do."

"But what can _I_ do?" he asked, and his voice trembled.

'What you can do…" I started to say as I came down to his level to look him directly in the eye, "is make one last promise for me. And this one is the most important of them all."

I hung on the last word, and he nodded in anticipation.

"Luca… One day when you grow so very strong and powerful… I want you to _end_ the Volturi clan."

He glared at me in bewilderment.

"I want you to rid this world of every last trace of their corruption and debauchery once and for all. I know you'll find a way. I want you to set this right—this is your destiny."

This, too, he seemed to understand as he nodded.

"I promise," he agreed in a broken whisper.

I pressed my lips to his forehead as I turned out the bedside lamp. "I love you, Luca."

"I love you, too, Dad," he answered. "You can count on me. I won't break my promise."


	29. BLOODLUST

26\. BLOODLUST

I'd never given much thought to how I would die. At least not since becoming an immortal. That meant I was supposed to live forever; it was part of the rules, right? I guess I should have known that of all people, I would be the one that death would catch up with despite the odds. So very limited ways to die, and it had found me.

It was inevitable, though. You can't really escape death once it has decided to take you. Sure, you can try to avoid it, but death is relentless. I would face death again and again because it was only coming back for what was long overdue; I'd evaded its grasp too many times. I was stupid not to realize I'd only been delaying the process—that death would return each time with a ruthless, uncaring vengeance.

And again, this time was no different than the last. Here I was, not running from what I feared. Death had me walking straight toward it. Dying in the place of someone I loved seemed to be my poison of choice. When you were destined to love someone so much that you would die for them, how could you not give up your life for your beloved? What other option did you have?

Every single day of these last few months, I had stared in surprise at each morning sun because I couldn't believe the earth would have me back again. I was so sure with every nightfall that this fantastically surreal dream would burn up. I would open my eyes to find that it all was nothing more than the most twisted joke conceivable by my unconscious imagination.

After all, when life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, is it reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end?

The irony was that now I felt _trapped_. Because the dream had turned into the most terrifying kind of nightmare—one where I needed to run for my life, but there was nowhere I could go. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

I was ensnared in the arms of that dream now. There was no waking up… no making it all disappear. The dream was no delusion, though. With relentless, uncaring force, real life slipped inexorably forward to its end.

It was perfectly clear to me that if I'd never fallen in love with a vampire, I wouldn't be here now. But that didn't matter.

I also knew that if I wasn't so fervent to preserve the life of the most remarkable, impossible miracle in the whole world, I'd probably be perfectly safe right now.

But how could I regret either decision?

Even if I lived this life a million times over, I would never make another choice.

It was senseless to grieve what could never be repaired. In this short life that was gifted to me, who was I to waste a moment of it in remorse for the fact that I hadn't received more? Even this single year was far better than living a thousand mundane, full-length lifetimes.

And for that, I was eternally grateful.

Sometimes in life we have to decide whether our personal lives are more important than the well-being of everyone else. We stood prepared, ready to defend not only ourselves, but the sake of our entire species. Because this would never end. We were next up in a long train of misery brought about by our world's corrupted leaders. Power-hungry authoritarians whom so many had wrongfully put their trust in.

Who knew how many had suffered unjustly at the hands of the Volturi's menace? How many more lives would be sabotaged before someone put an end to this?

We would fight until we were no more. Everyone seemed to have unanimously arrived at their decision. Of all our faces now, not a single one betrayed a hint of doubt. I'd gathered plenty from Archie's disappearance that the odds were not great. I knew that what it ultimately meant was we would all die here. I had come to terms with that.

I accepted that because my own life meant very little to me at this point. I was meant to die for this very purpose—for things that were infinitely more important.

We would soon be surrounded by our enemies, outnumbered and outperformed. They'd come at us from all sides.

They'd expect us to give up immediately like any sane, non-suicidal beings. But not us, no. We were going to make it as inconvenient for them as we could manage.

We'd charge, and rip, and slash, and tear into bodies. They'd lose a few, sure. And I was hungry for that, whatever little damage we could do. Then after our lucky minute was up, they'd come in for the kill, and that would surely be our moment.

We would die.

But I was glad for it.

For in failing this, I forfeited any desire to live.

I wondered idly what waited for us on the other side: Carine's version or Edythe's version? All I really cared about was that we not be separated in whatever lies beyond. Because I didn't want to know the other side of any world without Edythe.

The snow had started the night before New Year's Eve. And at last, the flakes didn't disappear into the earth. In just another day, thick drifts of snow had covered the clearing, and the scene from Archie's vision had been painted to its canvas.

I stood boldly now, hand in hand with Edythe as we stared in the dead silence across the field. All of our dozen witnesses gathered around us. Luca climbed agilely onto my back, wearing the backpack I'd adorned him with.

Edythe never questioned it. But she surely must have assumed what I was planning by now. Fortunately, she didn't know any of the specifics. That was what counted.

Taran was rigid and fierce, and Kirill mirrored that same presence next to him. Grace was rubbing her temples, deep in thought.

In the woods nearby, I heard the heavy panting and the thumping, large hearts of the wolf pack. They'd come after all.

Everyone braced themselves nervously as the Quileutes stoically marched out to our side to stand with us. They made most vampires instinctively uneasy. Julie stood closest to me, some distance from the rest of the wolves. Luca reached to grab a fistful of her fur, and her body relaxed a little. And I felt better, too. As long as he was with Julie, he would be all right.

I reached out behind Edythe, and she copied the motion. I gripped her side and pulled her tightly into me.

The minutes ticked by as I strained my ears for some sign of the coming approach. But even when I felt Edythe shift slightly, her jaw tightening, there was still no sound but the wind. I knew that meant only one thing. The minds of the Volturi were now in her head.

When they did appear, it was so silent I almost couldn't believe they were real. They came with such a choreographed pageantry, it was strangely beautiful, almost ironic. They emerged together from the northern tree line in perfect synchronicity, long cloaks hovering inches above the snow. Their advance was so smooth it almost appeared as if they were a single black mass coming toward us.

Those on the outside wore a dark grey, and in a gradual gradient, the color deepened to the richest black at the very center. Every face looked down, shadowed by hoods. Then without warning, the configuration spread outward. It resembled the opening of a flower. Their pace was unnervingly slow and deliberate. It was the pace of the invincible.

The scene from my worst nightmare was now reality. Though, rather than faces intent to kill, all I saw were emotionless, disciplined faces. I counted forty-seven of them. Our gathering seemed dwarfed in comparison, of course, but the most glaring difference was the disorganization on our part. We each had our own groups we clearly belonged to, with varying objectives for standing here. The Volturi were seamless. They operated as one.

And then, just mere seconds later, more vampires started making an appearance where the black cloaks had entered. These faces explicitly wore the gloating desire of vindication. They must have been the Volturi's own witnesses.

But unlike our witnesses, theirs were an angry mob that held very strong feelings against what we had been accused of. When we were dead, I'm sure they would be eager to spread the word that justice had been served impartially.

We didn't have a chance. Even if I could block every mental offense they could muster, they could so easily bury us in bodies. Despair weighted the air and pushed me down with more pressure than I had ever felt before.

"We were right," Edythe whispered.

I raised my eyebrows at her.

"They come to destroy and conquer," she breathed almost silently so that only our side could hear. She'd read the pertinent minds now. "They already have many strategies in place. Even if we could somehow prove the accusations were false, they will find another reason. We'd have to attempt to defend ourselves against their contrived allegations, but they would have to stop and listen. Which they have no intention of doing."

Just then, the procession came to a sudden halt. They were still a hundred yards away from us. Their faces broke character for the briefest moment with looks of shock and… disbelief? Then they quickly regained the resolve of their prior discipline, remaining motionless once again.

That was when the ten wolves stalked forward in a menacing way toward them.

I wondered then why they would ever gamble their entire pack on something like this. They were only children, some of them younger than me. We were going to lose, and the Volturi would surely destroy them as well just for being here.

All at once, I was furious again. No, beyond furious. I was murderously enraged. All of my fear and despair disappeared at that moment, and the figures in front of me lit up in a faint, reddish glow. I envisioned them being ripped limb from limb. I wanted to shred my teeth into every last one of their throats and pile them into a huge, burning heap. I was so unbelievably insane with anger I could have laughed maniacally and pranced around while their ashes smoldered. My shield exploded in the same ferocity all around me, blanketing everyone on our side, including the wolves. I had never accomplished such a feat before, but it was second nature to me now.

Without thinking, a snarl ripped up from my stomach, and my lips pulled back into a frenzied smile. Edythe squeezed my hand, cautioning me.

The shadowed faces of the Volturi continued to remain mostly expressionless. Only two of them moved now. In the very heart of the formation. Two women in the deepest black faced each other in evaluation. These had to be Sulpicia and Athenodora. Their entire guard waited on them. Waited for the order to kill.

I'm not sure why I had anticipated some sort of change from the figures Solimena had painted centuries ago. The masses of elaborate black curls and the face they framed were exactly the same on the woman from the center of Carine's painting—Sulpicia.

I was astonished as I focused in on her face. Rather than the exquisitely beautiful face I would expect from a vampire, she just looked… plain. And that surprised me. I don't think I'd ever seen a vampire that had anything less than unquestionable beauty. Her skin was translucently white, seeming delicate in the same way as the Romanians. It made the leader of the vampire world look fragile and weak rather than strong and intimidating.

The woman standing opposite her was the total opposite; her pale blond hair was much shorter and straight as silk. Athenodora was much more physically appealing than her counterpart, but there was something serpent-like in her expression. Or maybe it was just the way her face looked naturally. It was hard to tell. I almost imagined her voice to sound like some evil snake.

The only other whose cloak matched their pitch black was a dark-haired man who stood next to them, though he didn't appear to be a part of the conversation. I remembered Marcus in the way that he seemed slightly withdrawn from the two women in that old painting, and nothing appeared to have changed.

In fact, the immortalized Father Marcus looked utterly bored. I imagined he didn't care much about anything in life as I thought back to the old story. The murder of his wife had left him little reason to live. With Chariton's ways of bonding people to one another, I knew that Marcus's loyalty to the Volturi was most likely artifice at best.

I realized then he was probably the only true diplomat of this entire group, totally indifferent to power and acquisition. He should be the one we discussed things with. But I knew for certain that wasn't what was about to happen.

I tensed reflexively when I noticed who stood right behind them, just a few paces back. Victor hovered there shrouded in a gray cloak. He was _with_ them?

The next darkest cloak was a man standing just behind Sulpicia. It looked as if he was touching her back ever so lightly. This must be her personal bodyguard, Renazo. I wondered if he would be able to repel me. And when I looked closer at his face, I was suddenly baffled, because there was something there in the set of his eyes… the shape of his nose… the form of his lips that looked almost exactly like _Luca._ In fact, if someone had told me this was what Luca would look like when he grew up, I wouldn't have doubted it.

I was so distracted by this thought, I almost didn't notice my two most vital targets next to them. They were so tiny compared to the others, I had no problem picking them out now. Their cloaks matched Renazo's because they were equal in rank.

They were clearly the smallest, and youngest, of all the Volturi. They looked barely older than children. The 'witch twins,' Stefani had called them—Jasen and Alexandra—the cornerstone of the Volturi offensive and jewels in Sulpicia's collection.

Venom welled in my mouth, and my all muscles tensed.

Sulpicia and Athenodora's eyes flickered across our line, looking carefully at each face. Athenodora kept shooting quick glances at the wolves that flanked us. The silence ensued until Carine spoke to Edythe.

"What's happening?" Her voice was low and sharp with anxiety.

"They aren't sure exactly what to do. They're evaluating what options they have. They're irritated by the Romanians' presence. And they're worried about the thing they weren't anticipating. The wolves, of course."

"Should I speak now?" Carine asked.

"Yes. We need to take the chance. This may be all the time we get," Edythe said quickly.

Carine stepped several feet out from the rest of us. I felt the pull of her life-force on the edge of my umbrella, and I stretched it easily to accommodate the change. I still hated to see her stand out there alone, though.

She held her arms out in greeting. "Lady Sulpicia, what an honor it is to see you again after all this time." She bowed lightly.

There was no immediate response. The whole clearing went dead silent for a long moment. I could see Edythe's tension as she concentrated on their reaction to Carine's words.

Then, mirroring Carine's actions, Sulpicia stepped forward from their side, with only Renazo following close behind her, never breaking contact. At this, the entire guard reacted, and a nervous murmur broke out in the crowd. Eyebrows furrowed. Hisses came from clenched teeth. A few eased forward to protect her.

Sulpicia held out a hand behind her to stop them. "Peace."

Her voice was just as serpent-like as I had imagined Athenodora's to be. I guess it suited her character.

She walked a few more paces before she looked up at Carine with a curious expression.

"Fair words, my dear Carine," she said in her wispy, Italian accent. "But I do find them rather out of place… considering the battalion you've assembled against me."

She waved her hands out, gesturing to our line.

Carine shook her head and held her hand forward as if she were trying to shake hands, like they weren't still standing a hundred yards apart.

"You have but to touch my hand to know that was certainly not my intent."

Sulpicia's eyes narrowed in skepticism. "But, Carine, how could that possibly matter, given what you have done to lead me here?"

Strangely, her face looked saddened, like she truly cared about Carine. Though, I couldn't be sure this was genuine. I'd wager it was a façade to convince her witnesses she was a caring person.

"Well, to put it quite simply, we have not committed the crime we have been accused of," Carine said confidently. "You've received false allegations."

Before Sulpicia could answer, Athenodora flitted quickly to her side. "How could you possibly bear false witness to what you have so obviously done?" the ancient woman hissed. "We see the child, clearly!" Her voice was clear and strong, the opposite of the creepy gentleness in Sulpicia's demeanor.

"If you would only hear me out—"

"Do not treat us as fools!" Athenodora shouted angrily. "Why else would you have formed such an unnatural alliance?" Her eyes drifted swiftly to the Quileutes. "Our natural enemies! Of course, they would side with those whose twisted ideas go directly against the very grain of our kind. I must say, Carine, I am not at all surprised at your determination to subvert our way of life."

"These are witnesses, Athenodora." Carine gestured to the wolves, as well as the rest of those standing alongside us. "Just the same as you have assembled. Any one of my friends you see here can attest that the allegations were entirely false. And the wolves are merely interested in protecting the local human population."

"Blatant deceits!" Athenodora snapped. "Step aside, Carine, and let us punish those responsible for the child!"

"Be composed, my sister," Sulpicia warned her. "No need to be hasty."

All this time I had been worried about Sulpicia. But now it was her equal counterpart I most concerned myself with. Sulpicia seemed relatively tame in comparison to the hateful woman.

Sulpicia turned to her audience. "And so it seems we have a not-guilty plea on our hands. Such a surprise!" she said, clasping her hands together. "I suppose we have come to punish the innocent… Does that appear so, my dear ones?" she asked them sarcastically.

The army of soldiers and witnesses hissed in discontent and poised for the kill. They smiled at Sulpicia's ruse.

"I know this will not be easy to believe, but no one has actually broken the law," Carine said, her voice almost relieved. Did she really believe Sulpicia's mocking tactic? But this was the pause we had all pinned our hopes on. I felt no relief, though. I knew what to expect of the layers of strategy Edythe had warned about. Carine held her hand out again.

"What sort of _fools_ do you take us for?!" Athenodora screeched in offense. "We see the child plain as day, Carine, along with the brigade you have amassed to protect him! You are very plainly guilty, and I will not tolerate the mockery you make of us."

 _"Witnesses_ , Athenodora," Carine corrected. "They each can attest that this child is not what you think he is. Or you might just look at him for yourself! Do you not see the flush of blood in his cheeks? Hear the beating of his heart. Think about these incongruences with your preconceived notions."

Athenodora inhaled sharply. "Where is the informer? Let him come forward!" She spun around to locate Victor. "You! Come here, now!"

Victor was staring at Luca uncomprehendingly. Athenodora impatiently snapped her fingers as Victor hesitated. One of the Volturi soldiers moved toward Victor and shoved him forward to the ancients. Victor blinked rapidly as he tried to avoid Athenodora's glowering.

Athenodora marched toward him to close the gap and slapped him hard across the face. It couldn't have hurt, but it looked absolutely degrading. And I had to admit, I enjoyed seeing it.

Athenodora pointed one finger sharply at Luca. "Is _this_ the immortal child you saw?" she demanded.

Victor continued to peer past me at Luca in disbelief.

"I… I don't know," he said in his high-pitched, sheepish tone.

Athenodora tensed up as if she were restraining from slapping him across the face again. "What do you mean?!" she barked. "You don't _know_?"

"He isn't the same!" Victor admitted defensively.

"So they have brought us a different child, you suggest?" Athenodora asked with sarcasm.

"No," Victor shook his head. "That's the child, but he looks different now. He's bigger than he was…"

Athenodora scoffed. "Why you heedless, imprudent little—"

Sulpicia flitted to her side, holding the woman back from attacking him. "Calm yourself, sister. We will sort this out. Do not fret."

Athenodora turned her back on Victor, unwilling to avert her angry eyes.

"Victor?" Sulpicia said. "I am going to request that you show me what you are trying to say." She held her waiting hand out for him.

Victor touched his hand to hers. He let go within just a matter of seconds.

"Ah, you see, sister? It is quite easy to get the information we need. And so it seems we have quite the conundrum on our hands! For those who may not be following, this child has indeed changed from Victor's memory, yet he appears to be an immortal child. What a curiosity…"

"This is what I am trying to tell you," Carine jumped in.

This was definitely the pause we'd pinned our hopes on, but I couldn't feel relieved. I just knew it in my gut that it couldn't be this easy.

Carine held her hand out toward Sulpicia. "You have but to touch my hand…"

"No," Sulpicia answered quickly. "I would much rather obtain this information from someone directly involved in the breach."

Carine shook her head. "I am telling you, there is no breach."

"Shhh," Sulpicia cautioned like she was scolding a child. She pressed a finger to her lips. "I want every _facet_ of the truth, and I think we all know where I can get that."

Everyone on their side looked at Edythe next to me.

"As the child clings to her newborn mate, I presume Edythe is involved?"

"We are all equally involved," Carine argued.

"Is that so? Then I must ask, where is your immensely talented son? And his gifted mate? Why do they not protect the child?"

As expected, she was looking for Archie, securing her prospective assets.

"Well, as I am sure you can imagine, he was quite frightened by what he foresaw of your visit," Carine sighed.

I watched Sulpicia work to remove the disappointment from her face before she turned to squint at Edythe impatiently.

Edythe turned slowly and kissed me once, not meeting my eyes. Then she started out across the snowy expanse. I heard Earnest's teeth grinding together in anxiety behind me.

I couldn't bear it; I thought I would explode trying not to follow her, but I didn't want Luca any closer to them either.

I saw Jasen smile as Edythe crossed closer, and that smug little smirk did it. I couldn't hold back any longer. My shield ripped through me, flying across the wide span to encompass her. It was like I wasn't even controlling it anymore. It worked automatically now, and knew exactly what I wanted, what it needed to do.

As Edythe was walking, a startled laugh burst out of me. Everyone glanced at me as if I were crazy. There was nothing visible for them to see.

Sulpicia closed the distance between them, much to Renazo's discontent. But what did she have to worry about? Dozens of the best fighters in the world stood right behind her.

But no one knew I had the power to stop every single one of their mental attacks that they would surely use by default before recruiting the physical violence. Not even Edythe knew it as well as I did.

That's when it occurred to me I needed to stop what I was doing. I couldn't prevent this exchange from happening, or it might be seen as us having something to hide. And Sulpicia would probably rip me away from them herself at the sight of such a feat.

I left Edythe exposed again, and I grunted at the effort against the shield as it fought to snap tightly back into place around her.

Sulpicia looked absolutely peaceful as she grabbed Edythe by the hand. Her eyes closed in an instant, and she tensed up at the onslaught of all the information.

Every single thought Edythe had ever had, which included the thoughts of everyone she'd ever met, were all Sulpicia's now. It felt so invasive.

I started trembling in frustration. My breathing picked up as the air hissed through my clenched teeth.

I felt Luca put his hand on my shoulder comfortingly, and I relaxed a little.

It seemed to take forever as Sulpicia continued to skim through Edythe's mind. In fact, it took so long, and they were so silent, that many of Sulpicia's guard started to shift around uneasily as if Edythe might be harming her in some way.

Sulpicia let go unexpectedly as a small gasp escaped her mouth. Her eyes widened. "Oh, my…"

"You see?" Edythe asked in a calm voice.

"Indeed," she said in an exasperated breath. "But I don't believe it…"

"What is this about, sister?" Athenodora asked impatiently.

"This is much more than I could have ever anticipated, dear," Sulpicia mused. "You will never believe it yourself."

Athenodora rolled her eyes at her sister's antics.

Sulpicia turned to face all of her guard and witnesses. "Half mortal! … Half _immortal_!" she cried out in an excited voice. "Such an unexpected revelation, indeed!" Her hands clasped together.

"What on earth are you blathering about?" Athenodora asked.

"Conceived by a human…" Sulpicia continued. "And fathered by a _vampire…_ "

Shocked gasps rattled across their ranks. Most of the guard's faces were totally incredulous, like their leader had gone utterly mad.

"Impossible!" I heard someone exclaim.

"Patience, my dear ones," Sulpicia said. "They truly mean us no harm if we are peaceable."

The guard grew even more uneasy then, and others started to protest. Renazo reclaimed his position with relief. "Master," he sighed, as if he had missed her dearly.

"I would like to see him up close," Sulpicia mused.

"Perhaps my family shall bring a few members along with him? It will make them feel more at ease," Edythe answered immediately.

Sulpicia nodded. "Of course, dear."

If Edythe trusted this woman, I guess I did, too.

"Don't touch her," I whispered almost silently to Luca at my back.

"Julie? Eleanor?" I asked, nodding them forward. I heard the guard start to murmur in dissent as they observed my choice of a wolf.

"Interesting company you keep," I heard one of them say to Edythe.

We moved swiftly to join Edythe standing near the ancients.

"I am so very pleased to meet you, young Beau," Sulpicia said as she grinned at me. "I must say, you have grown to be quite the intriguing immortal. And so very handsome," she complimented.

Too bad I can't say the same about you, I thought to myself.

"Sulpicia," I said, giving her a wry smile.

She cleared her throat in amazement as she looked at Luca on my back. "And might I have the honor of meeting this extraordinary child, dear?"

This was what we had hoped for, but I still had to war with myself not to turn and run. I pushed the shield around Luca as I sat him down on the snowy ground.

"My, my, is he exquisite," she murmured. "Such a beautiful child. Hello, Luca."

"Hello, Sulpicia," he answered formally.

Sulpicia's eyes widened bemusedly.

"Sulpicia!" Athenodora scoffed from behind. "I cannot believe you wish to confer with this abomination! Step aside and allow me to take care of justice at once!"

"Calm yourself," Sulpicia cautioned without looking away from Luca. "I do know how much you love serving justice, but there is no justice in acting against this one. So much to learn, you see? I know you lack the enthusiasm for the histories and sciences, but do be tolerant with me. This adds a new chapter to our world! Such an improbability. I came expecting the loss of good friends, but just look what we have stumbled upon instead! Be joyous with me, sister."

Sulpicia reached down before I could react and grasped Luca's tiny hand. Luckily, I already had him covered.

Sulpicia's face altered as she looked down at Luca. Her unshakable confidence seemed to waver into doubt for the first time. And then she was suddenly composed again.

Her eyes flickered to the three of us with a thoughtful expression.

"A first…" she said to herself. "I see absolutely nothing."

Her eyes locked on mine next. Then she shook her head. "So very interesting, because this is what I had expected from Beau, rather. I find it curious that he seems to possess the same talent you do. Wouldn't you say so?"

I smiled smugly at her and gave a one-shouldered shrug. "He's so different from us. He conquers us all," I bluffed. "My gift doesn't work on him either."

"Is that so?" she asked, taking my hand unexpectedly. Again she waited, and nothing came to her. "As expected…"

She dropped my hand.

"Then I presume he is immune to our other talents as well… Jasen, dear?"

"No!" Edythe snarled, lunging forward. A big guard rushed in to grab her by the arms, pulling her back away.

Jasen smiled happily some distance away. "Yes, Master?"

"I was wondering, dear, if these two might be immune to _you_."

Jasen turned in my direction and smiled. I met his gaze confidently. After a few seconds, his smile dropped from his expression. He glared now as he tightened his jaw. Nothing happened.

He turned angrily, looking down at Luca, giving him the same intense glare. He started to tremble in frustration at being rendered harmless.

"Ha, ha, haaaa!" Sulpicia cackled in amusement. "This is just wonderful!"

Jasen snarled from behind her.

"Oh, don't be put out, dearest. You've had plenty of moments to shine," Sulpicia said to him. Then she kneeled down to look at Luca straight on. "Absolutely brilliant… Just what do we do with you now?"

"Please?" Luca asked her in a shy voice.

Sulpicia smiled warmly. "Oh, my precious. I assure you I have no desire to harm your loved ones."

Her voice was so convincingly affectionate that I almost didn't notice the aversion of truth hidden in her words. Edythe ground her teeth together in confirmation of what I had picked up on.

"I wonder," Sulpicia mused as she looked at Julie.

"It doesn't work that way," Edythe snapped.

"Just an errant thought," Sulpicia defended herself. She looked back at the rest of the wolves behind us.

"They don't belong to us," Edythe said. "They are here because they want to be."

The wolves growled menacingly.

Edythe hissed and tensed up again. I clutched at her arm, wondering what she was accessing that would create such a reaction. The guard slipped into ready crouches in sync again, and Sulpicia had to wave them off. They all relaxed at her command.

"Decisions, decisions…" she muttered nonchalantly like she was in a business meeting. "Much to discuss there is. Now, if you and your furry guard dog will excuse me, dear Cullens, I must consult this matter further with my brother and sister."


	30. CONTRIVANCES

27\. CONTRIVANCES

Rather than rejoin the waiting guard, Sulpicia waved all of them forward, and they immediately began closing the gap between our groups. Edythe started to back up, grabbing my arm and Eleanor's. We hurried back to the rest of our side. Julie stayed farther ahead than we did, never taking her eyes off the Volturi. Her fur was standing straight out as she kept her teeth bared at them. We rejoined our family around the same time Sulpicia disappeared into a shroud of dark cloaks.

In those few seconds, they had effectively halved the distance that separated us. There was only a single leap any of us could easily make between us and them now. Athenodora didn't waste any time. She and Sulpicia were face to face now, and she began to burst out a spew of discontent.

"You are a fool to abide this infamy, sister! I do not understand how you can stand by and allow such a cover-up to an egregious crime!" Her hands were balled tightly into fists. I wondered why she didn't just touch Sulpicia to share her thoughts. Were we seeing a divide in their opinions already? Surely, we couldn't be that lucky.

"There is no deception," Sulpicia insisted in a voice that reminded me of someone trying to appease a child. "Do you not see how many witnesses have gathered in agreement this is no immortal child? They've all seen the evidence for themselves." She gestured to our small gathering of nineteen people.

All this time, my fear really had been misplaced, or at least misdirected. I'd pinned the source of our conflict on Sulpicia's intentions. But now that just seemed silly because Sulpicia was relatively benign and reasonable compared to the one she and Marcus shared their power with. Athenodora was the most hate-filled being I'd ever had the misfortune of meeting. It made me wonder who or what had wronged her so severely to make her so despicable. I almost felt sympathy for Marcus having to live through the millennia with this pair—the perpetually angry on one side and a megalomaniac on the other.

Athenodora seemed to calculate something in her head for a moment, and then her hard expression faded. She turned and glanced at their own witnesses, and I couldn't quite describe the look on her face... Apprehensive? I looked at their congregation, too, and I saw how much the emotions had changed. They were no longer the angry mob that had traveled so far with them. They were confused and uncertain. Whispers broke out amongst the crowd as they tried to decide how they really felt about all of this.

As I waited for the ancients to deliberate, I tested my shield again just to be safe. I let it stretch out into a wide dome that covered our side. I could feel each and every life force within it. Edythe's was the most familiar and comforting to it.

And then I realized with disappointment that if any one of the talented Volturi got underneath it with my family, it would be useless. How would I be able to keep up with whom I should keep out while trying to maintain all the important people inside it?

"The werewolves," I heard Athenodora mutter, interrupting my sudden anxiety.

Of course. So here would come the contrived excuses... How many would they throw at us before one stuck? How many times would we have to argue our way out before we couldn't any longer?

When everyone diverted their attention to the wolves, I realized in a panic that I still only had Julie covered. Or at least I _thought_ I was only covering Julie. But somehow I could still sense all of their sparks right alongside hers, despite the fact she was the only one of them I directed it towards. I let the shield slide away from Julie, just to experiment with it, and all ten of them vanished. When I edged it over her again, they all reappeared instantaneously.

I thought about the way their minds were so interconnected. If they could share each others thoughts, I reasoned the pack had a psyche that operated as one whole. So if I protected one member, the rest were included just as well. I wished it could be that easy to hold onto everyone else who mattered to me. That would have solved my biggest problem.

"Oh, sister…" Sulpicia sighed.

"What? Do you mean to tell me you defend this alliance as well, then?" Athenodora demanded. "The Children of the Moon have been our natural-born enemies from the dawn of time! The Cullens should have reported their whereabouts as soon as they discovered them. Are you so blind as to not see their relationship is clearly aimed at some plot to overthrow the rest of us who don't share in their twisted lifestyle?"

Edythe cleared her throat loudly. "Athenodora, if you don't mind me pointing something out, it is the middle of the day. These wolves are not the same as the ones you tracked across Siberia. The bear no relation to the Children of the Moon at all."

"So you admit you breed mutants here?" Athenodora blurted back at her.

Edythe sighed, and again it reminded me of someone dealing with an upset child. "They aren't even werewolves. Just ask Sulpicia. She can tell you if you don't believe me."

That definitely wasn't a defense I was expecting. Not _werewolves_? If they weren't werewolves, then I wasn't a vampire.

"Dear sister," Sulpicia said in embarrassment. "You should have given me your thoughts so that I could have warned you not to press this point. Though the creatures do refer to themselves as werewolves, truly, they are not. They are merely shapeshifters like my Sheba… It appears there are others out there who can change to the form of an animal through their ancestral magic. The fact they take on the form of wolves is merely by coincidence."

Athenodora just glared at Sulpicia in a way that made it obvious she was aware of the anomaly, yet Sulpicia betrayed her bluff. And to be honest, I couldn't tell whose side Sulpicia was on at this point. Was her admiration for Carine enough to turn her against her partner in crime?

It wasn't long before Athenodora jumped ahead to her next plan. "So, the insinuation is that these are humans…?"

"Just as human as Sheba", Sulpicia smiled.

"Therefore, humans who know too much," Athenodora replied flatly.

"And the same can be said for Sheba, sister. All humans belonging to the world of the supernatural rely just as well on the secret as we do. They can hardly expose us. Be peaceable, dear. Whimsical accusations get us nowhere."

Athenodora exhaled sharply and crossed her arms in a pout.

But I saw through Sulpicia's careful wording. False charges weren't going to convince their audience watching carefully behind them. They needed to move on to a better strategy. I was starting to realize that maybe tension between the two ancients was due to the fact that Athenodora didn't care much for the show in the way Sulpicia did. She merely wanted to slaughter without regard to their reputation.

"Informant?" Athenodora called. "Come forward."

Victor held his ground as Athenodora glared at him. He looked just as torn now as he did that day on the mountain, his instinct to flee grating against his vindictive desires. Athenodora was ready to take out her frustration on someone, and the problem for Victor was he wasn't sure who would be on the receiving end of that fury. He could have very well been in just as much trouble as we were at this point.

"Victor!" the ancient woman commanded. "Step forward! Now!"

I was right. Because all at once, Victor looked very afraid.

Athenodora snapped her fingers, and he hesitantly shoved his way out of the tight formation to stand before Athenodora again.

"Your allegations appear to have been quite false," Athenodora accused.

I noticed Lauren lean forward anxiously for what was coming.

"My apologies," Victor whispered in his unintimidating tenor. "I had no idea…"

"Dear Athenodora, would you have expected him to make any other conclusion from what he had seen at a distance?" Sulpicia asked. "You would have made the same assumption."

Athenodora threw her palm forward to silence her.

"We can understand how the mistake could have been made. But what I would like to know are your motivations for reporting this crime."

Victor hesitated nervously. "My motivations? I know the law. We all have a responsibility to report crimes as we see them."

Athenodora shook her head, seeing straight through his diversion. "You were unhappy with the Cullens, were you not? Why else were you here to spy on them in the first place?"

Victor stiffened as he processed the fact that the Volturi were going to come away having wasted their efforts, and he was the one who would be held accountable.

"I was," he admitted.

"Because…?" Athenodora pressed on.

"Because they took everything away from me," he whispered, moving his eyes to glare at us.

"How so?" Athenodora asked. "Please explain for our witnesses."

"They killed my Joss, the only thing that ever mattered to me... All over that newborn they were keeping around as some sort of pet while he was human!" Victor jabbed an accusing finger at me.

"So the Cullens turned against their own kind to protect a _human_ ," Athenodora summarized.

"That is precisely how I saw it," Victor said as he squared his shoulders.

I felt some minuscule reaction in Edythe next to me.

Athenodora waited and then prompted. "Well, I suppose if you would like to formally address your complaint to the Cullens, now is your opportunity." For the first time, she smiled a tiny but cruel smile.

Maybe I was beginning to like Athenodora a little bit after all...

Victor's face jerked up. "No. I have nothing to say to the Cullens. You came here today to destroy an immortal child and his protectors. No such child exists. That was the mistake on my part, and I take responsibility for that. But I will not apologize for my grievances against the Cullens. _You_ may not understand relationships based on love, so I think you overestimate the potency of vengeance." Then he turned around to the Volturi witinesses. "There was no crime. There's no reason for any of you to continue to be here."

The last comment was clearly meant as an insult to Athenodora, in reference to how she'd executed her own husband, but she didn't give any response. As soon as Victor turned his back on her, though, Athenodora pulled a shiny metal object from her cloak.

This was apparently taken as some sort of signal. But the response to the command was so fast that I couldn't even process it as it happened. It was already over before I understood what I had just witnessed.

Three soldiers had leaped forward, obscuring Victor from view with their cloaks. A split second later, a familiar but horrible metallic screeching echoed through the clearing. Athenodora jumped into the middle of the squabble, and there was an explosion of sparks and flame that ripped high into the air above them. When all of them leapt back from the sudden inferno, Athenodora was standing alone next to the blazing remains of Victor. The strange object in her hand was still jetting fire onto his dismembered body.

Of course, I couldn't help but revel in a sense of joy at watching Victor's demise. But my elation lasted for all of two seconds before I realized this was what was coming for us next—death by a fierce, unstoppable speed. We'd be lost in the flames before we even had time to realize what hit us.

Everyone in the clearing was too aghast to react in any way whatsoever. There wasn't a single word muttered.

Athenodora smiled like she was pleased with herself. "Victor has taken full responsibility for his actions."

The dozens of witnesses stared in disbelief, and the emotions shifted again. Faces full of confusion turned into faces of suspicion. The lightning-fast dismemberment of one who had traveled with them had shaken them all. What had been his crime?

But this wasn't over. I didn't believe for a second the Volturi would be satisfied with just taking one life today in order to save their untarnished reputation. Their plan for witnesses of their own had backfired, sure. But they would just slaughter them as well after they were done with us. And if anyone ran, Delphia would hunt them until they were extinct.

Sulpicia raised her voice as doubtful whispers began to break out amongst her witnesses. "Shall we get back to the matter at hand?"

Athenodora composed herself, the hint of glee fading from her expression a little.

Sulpicia started to walk toward us. Renazo and two other big guards followed right behind her. "Just to be thorough, I would like to have a word with a few of _your_ witnesses. Standard procedure, you know."

Edythe shifted forward suddenly, her hands balling up into fists so tight it looked like the skin would break over the knuckles.

I desperately wanted to know what was happening now, but Sulpicia was too close. She would hear anything I said. I saw Carine glance worriedly at Edythe as well.

Athenodora's antics were just a prelude to the real show. All this time, Sulpicia was cooking up a more nefarious strategy.

About ten yards away, Sulpicia stopped in front of Toshiro standing at the edge of our line. "Ah, my dear Toshiro! Fancy seeing you here after all this time."

"My lady," Toshiro nodded.

"We shall begin with you, friend. Tell me… What do you witness for the Cullens today?" she asked politely.

Toshiro spoke with a total lack of emotion. "I have observed the child in question during my time here. It is clear to me that he is definitely not one of the forbidden children."

"Understood. But perhaps we should take a moment to define our terminology," Sulpicia conceded. "Because there seems to be a new classification to be acknowledged. In referring to the forbidden children, you specifically mean a human child bitten to become a vampire?"

"Yes. That would be correct."

"And what else have you observed about him?"

"That this child is very smart. He grows. He learns very quickly."

Sulpicia smiled. "And you believe that he should be allowed to live?"

Ever so quietly, I slipped Luca down from my back and sat him up on Julie's shoulders. Jules looked at me with her massive eyes, wondering what I was doing. I covertly put a finger to my lips, and she turned her attention back to Sulpicia.

"I see no danger in the child. He knows very well the difference between right and wrong. His mind is far ahead of his body."

Sulpicia nodded. "Thank you. Your observations have been considered."

Sulpicia walked to stand in front of Taran, inclining her head towards him. "Taran, darling, you are lovely as ever."

"And you as well," Taran replied, his face an unreadable mask.

"I must say, you and your brothers' presence here was most unexpected. With that in mind, I am assuming that you would answer my questions the same as Toshiro. Is that correct?" Sulpicia asked.

"I would," he nodded. "But I would also add a little more. Luca fully understands the importance of the secret. In fact, he will blend better than we do. As I'm sure you have seen, he would be able to be out in the day without ever revealing any sign of what he is. He poses less of a threat of exposure than the average newborn vampire does."

"So you can think of no risk at all?" Sulpicia questioned.

A growl started to creep up in my throat. Edythe tightened her grip on my hand.

I watched Athenodora's eyes brighten.

"I don't think I follow you," Taran answered after a moment.

Sulpicia paced back slowly toward the rest of her guard. "There _is_ no broken law, I admit."

Everyone could hear the qualification coming. I hurled my anger into the shield, thickening it.

"But… does it then follow that there really is no appreciable risk?" She shook her head gently. "That is the issue at hand."

The only response was several of our line shaking their heads in slow anger. Sulpicia continued to pace back and forth thoughtfully.

"We have forbidden the immortal children for many years now, and our purpose in this decree is the same now as it was in the beginning. After our studies into the matter, the council determined that such children are unable to remain concealed from the human world. It should be noted that there has never been an absolute age limit on what constitutes an immortal child. The definition is subjective, based on the child's ability to behave in accordance with vampire law. The child in question today is incredibly, impossibly unique. Indeed, there is so much to be learned from this lovely child." She sighed as if she were reluctant to go on. "There is no doubt the appeal of this endearing little one; anyone would be automatically drawn into loving him. But likewise was the case with the outlawed children. Today, our definition of what makes a child forbidden remains subjective. Because even in this case, there _is_ danger… the danger of the unknown. And that is something that simply cannot be ignored."

No one answered the assertion.

"It is truly ironic that as the humans and their modern technologies push the boundaries of what was once possible, we find ourselves more and more obscured from discovery every single day. Their faith in science has grown such that it dictates their world. Any incidental claims of our existence would immediately be rejected, if not surely met by mockery. But, their disbelief in the paranormal aside, they _could_ one day be strong enough to pose a threat… to our kind."

Murmurs of dissent broke out from the witnesses from behind her. This wasn't a popular idea.

"Our secret has always been merely a matter of convenience for us rather than a means of safety. But this last treacherous century has proven that our obscurity has never been more imperative. Humans have given rise to weapons of such mass destruction that they could perhaps endanger even immortals. Our remaining status as myth is what protects us now from these weak creatures we prey upon! This security is a very fragile thing which we should never test our luck with. Once it is broken, our entire peaceful existence will forever be corrupted."

Athenodora's smile widened viciously.

"The amazing child you see here… if we could only know his potential. If we could just know with _absolute_ certainty that he will not expose us. But we know nothing of what he will become, nor do we know where his future allegiances will lie! Even his own caretakers live in fear of his future. He _is_ half human, after all… Who knows if he will sympathize with his mother's species when he is older? If he so desired, he could begin the uprising that leads to all our defeat!"

I found a beautiful irony in that last statement.

The Volturi's witnesses started to hiss in strain voices in protest. Some even shouted out in anger. And I couldn't believe it. How idiotic did someone have to be to believe this garbage? That a single child could pose some great menace to the entire vampire race? The only uprising Luca would ever lead is one that would destroy the Volturi and protect all of our kind from _them_ once and for all. And that was the hope I was riding on.

"Only the known is safe. Only the _known_ is tolerable. The unknown is such a vulnerability. Do we spare a bit of sadness today, and gamble our peace, only to die tomorrow at the hands of nuclear bombs?"

Carine lashed out in the harshest, most defiant voice I'd ever heard her use. "You are _reaching_ , Sulpicia! Don't be preposterous!"

"Peace, my friend," Sulpicia cautioned. "I assure you this is nothing personal. But in my position, I must make decisions based not on emotion. We must consider what is best for all. You know that, dear Carine."

Behind me, Grace scoffed. "Excuse me… But may I offer something to be considered?" she asked as she stepped forward.

Sulpicia paused and then nodded in permission.

Grace held her chin high. She focused in on the huddled mass at the back end of the clearing, speaking directly to the witnesses. "I am here today at my friend Carine's request, just the same as the others you see," she started. "But that is certainly no longer necessary. We all see the child, and you all know now just as well as we do what he is. But have the rest of us left? No. Because we are also here to witness something else... _You_." She pointed her finger toward the mass of vampires. "I can see that many of you are wanderers and roamers just like me, answering to no one. Think long and hard about what I am about to tell you… These ancient ones do not come here for justice. We all have suspected as such, and it is plainly proven now. They all came here, misled, albeit with a valid excuse. But watch them now as they scramble around with manufactured, flimsy excuses to continue to seek out their true goal, which is to destroy this family here."

Sulpicia interrupted. "Let us not be hasty, my—"

Grace suddenly snapped. "If you call me your 'dear one,' I swear to God! Cut this 'we're all friends' bullshit for a minute and let me say what I came to say…" She turned back to the witnesses. "The Volturi clearly have come to erase the competition. It's as simple as that. And I know… just like me, you probably see this coven's golden eyes and find them difficult to understand. That much is true. But the ancient ones see something beyond that. They see the power they hold in this very talented family. Yes, I use the word _family_ because that is what they are. These golden eyes deny their nature, yes, but in return they, have found something else that is so rare… Something more important than the gratification of desire. I've been able to make my little study of them in my time here, and from what I have seen, the thing that makes this family possible in the first place is the peaceful character of the sacrifice they have all made to live this way. There is not a single ounce of aggression among them. There is no thought of domination. Only unconditional love for each other. And Sulpicia should know this better than I do."

I watched Sulpicia's face warily, expecting some defensive reaction to Grace unraveling her entire scheme. But she only looked… amused. This time, it was Grace who played the role of the cranky child, and Sulpicia only waited patiently for the tantrum-throwing baby to quiet down.

"Carine told us long before this day came that we were not meant to fight. We were only meant to witness the evidence that the child has grown. But many of us have wondered… If Carine had the chance to plead her irrefutable case, would it even matter? Would truth on our side be enough to put a halt to this so-called 'justice'? The answer to that is no. Because it was already decided that this family should burn no matter what went down here today. We have a mind reader of our own, even more capable than your master here, and she knows perfectly well that this is all true. If you don't believe me, just watch as the Volturi decide they are not satisfied with the result of this misunderstanding. As you will soon see, they will continue to push the issue under the pretense of law and order. We hear it all in Sulpicia's lying words, and see it in Athenodora's eager, vile expression. This guard of theirs is a mindless weapon, just a tool in their ruler's quest for domination. You all must answer these questions for yourselves. Who rules _you?_ Do you answer to someone's will besides your own? Do you truly even have your free will? Or will the Volturi dictate how you live? I say I came to witness, but I will stay to fight. The Volturi don't give a shit about the life and death of a child. They seek the destruction of our free will!"

Grace turned to face the three ancients with incredible confidence. "So come on, then, I say! Let's end all the bullshit and rationalizations right here, right now. Just be honest about your intentions, and we will be honest in ours. We defend freedom. You will or will not attack it. Choose as you may and let these witnesses you've brought see who you really are!"

Again, she looked at the witnesses, and I could see the power of her words morphing the many expressions. "You might consider joining us. Because if you think for one second that the Volturi will let you live to tell about what you are sure to see soon, you are making the ultimate mistake. We all may very well be destroyed! But then again, will we? Maybe the Volturi have found their match. They only have as much power as you allow them to hold. I can promise you one thing, though. If you stand aside as we burn, you will surely burn with us!"

She ended her heated monologue by stepping back to take her place next to Kirill, sliding forward in a crouched position, ready for the fight.

Sulpicia chuckled, clapping her hands slowly in an exaggerated motion. "What a marvelous speech, my revolutionary friend!"

Grace scoffed in defiance. "Revolutionary? And just who am I revolting against? Do you think _you_ are my _queen_? Shall I call you 'master' like your mind-washed, obsequious guard?"

Sulpicia cackled loudly. "Peace, Grace… I only meant to make reference to your time of birth. You are still very much a patriot, I see."

Grace glared back furiously, not shifting from her stance.

"Now, allow _me_ to consult our witnesses," Sulpicia suggested. "I would like to hear their thoughts before we make our decision. Tell me, friends," she said as she turned casually to them. "What do you think of all this? That's what you are here for, after all. Yes, the child is not what we feared. Do we take a risk and leave him be? Do we jeopardize everything we know to preserve his family? Is Grace correct in her accusations? Will you join them against our sudden quest for dominion?"

The witnesses all glanced around at each other carefully. "Are those the only choices?" a man with jet-black hair asked Sulpicia. He exchanged a look with the blonde woman beside him. "Do we have to either agree with you, or fight against you?"

"Of course not, charming Maverick," Sulpicia replied. She truly looked horrified that anyone would come to such a conclusion. "You may leave in peace whenever you so desire, even if you disagree with the council's decision."

Maverick looked again to the same woman, who must have been his mate, for confirmation. They both nodded in unison.

"In that case, we have seen all we need to see," he exhaled with relief. "We came here to witness justice being served, but this family is not guilty in the slightest. We agree with Grace."

"Ah, despite the fact I have absolved the Cullens of guilt?" Sulpicia asked in a remorseful tone. "In any case, I am sorry that you see us in that way. But such is the nature of our work."

Maverick shook his head. "It isn't about what I see, but what I know. Grace mentioned they have a mind-reader, and I, too, know when I am hearing the truth, and when I am not."

"Yes, there is no doubt Grace truly believes what she says," Sulpicia agreed.

Maverick's eyes narrowed at the diversion. "I have stated our witness. We are leaving now."

They moved slowly, not turning their backs on the Volturi until they were obscured by trees. Then I heard them rush off through the forest. I hoped for their sake they were fast.

Sulpicia turned back to the guard in her military-like pace. She stopped in front of them and addressed them in a formal voice. "It appears we are outnumbered, dearest ones," she admitted. "We will not expect outside help. What do you say? Save ourselves?"

"No, master!" a very tall, bulky woman in a deep-dark hood whispered fervently.

"But Felizia, is the protection of our world really worth the loss of a few of our members?"

"Of course," she breathed. _"We_ are not afraid."

Sulpicia smiled and turned to Athenodora and Marcus. "Brother… sister…" she said somberly. "We have much to consider."

"Then let us get on with it," Athenodora said eagerly.

"Indeed," Marcus said in his apathetic tone.

They all turned in, facing away from us, only looking at each other. They joined hands to form a triangle of black.

As soon as I was sure they weren't looking, I turned toward Luca. This was it. Carefully, I tightened up the straps of his backpack and slipped his medallion down into his shirt, securing it from where it hung.

An overwhelming lump rose in my throat, nearly choking the words as they came out. "Do you remember what I told you?"

Tears welled in his eyes as he nodded. "I love you," he whispered.

Edythe was watching us intently, her topaz eyes wide. Julie stared at me with a terrified expression from the corner of her big dark eye.

"I love you," I said, reaching out to touch his face in the way he always did. "Be strong for me," I tried to say, but the tightness in my throat and chest strangled the words into a silent whisper.

Julie whined uneasily.

I leaned in as close as possible into her massive ear and took a deep breath. Then I whispered as deliberately as I could manage. "Wait until the moment is just right, when they're sufficiently distracted, then run with him. Get as far from here as you possibly can. Don't stop until you've gone as far as you can on foot. He has everything you need to get you out of the country. You'll find my instructions in there as well."

Julie's face was a mask of pure grief. Edythe looked at me with exactly the same expression. Luca reached for Edythe, and she took him tightly in her arms. The embrace she held him in had such a finality to it that it was all I could do to not break down bawling right here. But if I couldn't put on a brave face in sending him away, how could I expect him to brave the world without us?

"This is what you were keeping from me," Edythe mouthed.

"No. From _her_ ," I said silently, miming in Sulpicia's direction.

"Archie…" she breathed.

I held a shushing finger to my lips and nodded slightly.

Her face twisted in pain. It was the same expression I had made when I'd pieced Archie's clues together for myself.

Julie started to growl quietly in a low rasp. Her hair was standing out stiff, and her teeth were exposed again.

Edythe kissed Luca's forehead and both his cheeks as she settled him into the dip between Julie's massive shoulder blades. Then Julie turned to me, and her expressive eyes were full of agony.

"You're the only one we could ever trust him with," I whispered. "If it weren't for you, I don't know what I would have done. I know you can protect him just as well as we could."

She whined loudly and dipped her head into my shoulder.

"I love you, too, Jules. Please take care of my son."

A tear the size of a baseball rolled from her eye, slipping down into the snow.

Edythe leaned her head in next to where mine was in our small huddle. "Goodbye, Julie, my honorary sister… You are a remarkable soul for agreeing to this."

"It's time to say goodbye now." My voice broke as I whispered to Luca. "But I'd do it all over again for you, kid. Don't ever forget me."

No one else was aware of our farewell scene. Their focuses were all locked on the council's huddle before them, trying to pick up on what was being said.

"There is no hope, then?" Carine whispered. Her voice sounded so… defeated.

"There is absolutely hope," I answered. "I only know my own fate."

Edythe took my hand, in silent agreement she was included with whatever my fate might be. There was no question that I meant both of us. We were two halves of the same soul.

Earnest's breath was ragged behind me. He moved quickly between us, touching our faces as he went along. He found Carine at last and took her hand.

Suddenly, more goodbyes and I-love-you's sounded off all around us.

"If we somehow live through this," Grace whispered to Kirill, "I promise I'll follow you anywhere."

Kirill huffed a half-hearted laugh. "So _now_ you tell me."

Royal and Eleanor kissed passionately, refusing to let go of each other.

Ivan caressed Lauren's face. She smiled back, trying to look cheerful.

I couldn't bear to look at all the expressions of love and pain. That in itself almost broke me down again. Luckily, there was something suddenly distracting me— a sort of pressure against the outside of my shield. I couldn't detect where it was coming from, but it felt like it was directed at the edges of our group. It did no damage, of course. Before I could investigate any further, it disappeared.

There was still no change in the still formation of the ancients. There had to have been some kind of signal I'd missed.

"Get ready," I warned the others. "It's starting."


	31. ULTIMATUM

28\. ULTIMATUM

"Chariton is struggling to find our emotional ties," Edythe whispered. "He's trying to break them apart, but he can't sense them. It's like we aren't even here…" Her eyes shifted to look at me. "Are you…?"

I gave her a smug grin. "Trust me. I'm _all_ over this."

Edythe jerked away from me suddenly, her hands reaching for Carine. At the same time, there was a much sharper jab at my shield. It wasn't painful, but it wasn't pleasant either.

"Carine!" Edythe gasped. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Jasen…" she answered.

As soon as she uttered the name, a dozen pointed attacks scattered across different locations over the shield, aimed at various people. The shield didn't seem affected at all. Jasen clearly wasn't able to pierce it. I glanced around quickly, and everyone was fine.

"Incredible," Edythe breathed.

"Why aren't they waiting for Sulpicia?" I asked.

"Normal procedure," Edythe shrugged. "They had planned to incapacitate us so we wouldn't be able to escape."

I stared across the open expanse at the small boy, who was glaring furiously in disbelief. It was pretty safe to assume that today was the first time anyone had remained standing through his fiery assault, let alone an entire coven.

It probably wasn't the most mature thing to do, but I didn't care anymore. We were all dead anyway. I grinned a huge, cocky smile right at Jasen.

His eyes narrowed in on me, and I felt the biggest jab of pressure of all, directed only at me this time.

I pulled my lips back over my teeth and smiled even wider.

Jasen immediately started trembling, and he let out a high screech of a snarl. Everyone on the guard flinched, never expecting to hear such a thing from him. But the ancients acted as though they hadn't noticed a thing. His twin, Alexandra, caught his arm as he shifted forward to charge, as if the little boy would be able to take any of us.

Stefani and Vladimira started chuckling with delight.

"I told you it was our time!" Vladimira said to her sister.

"Just look at the poor boy's face," Stefani cackled.

Alexandra patted her brother on the shoulder, then tucked him under her arm. She turned to us then, and her face was perfectly smooth.

I waited for some sign of her attack, but there was nothing. She continued to stare in our direction, and her face was absolutely composed. Was she getting through? Was I the only one who could still see her? I pulled at Edythe's hand.

"Edythe," I whispered.

"What?"

"Is Alexandra doing something now?"

Edythe nodded. "Her gift is slower than Jasen's. It will take some time to reach us."

And I could actually _see_ it now that I started looking, not that I was expecting to detect it visually.

A strange, wispy haze, almost like smoke, was crawling toward us across the snow. It was hard to believe what I was seeing was real. What resembled dark, dense fog was creeping over the expanse, but it moved too uniformly to look natural. I pushed the shield out farther away from us, afraid to have the mist any closer. What if it slipped right through? Surely we could just outrun it…

The ancients looked up then as the vapors crept past them. They didn't speak as they waited for it to reach us.

And then the mist hit a wall.

I could faintly feel it as it clung to the boundary of my shield. Unlike Jasen's unpleasant stabbing, Alexandra's mist had a soothing, sweet feeling to it. It reminded me of a dentist's Novocain on my tongue.

The dark cloud diverted upward, curving over the invisible dome, illustrating it for all to see. It traveled upward and around, trying to find a way in, but never found it.

I heard sharp breaths that sucked in at the sight, on their side as well as ours.

"Well done, Beau!" Edythe whispered.

My smile returned.

I watched Alexandra's angelic face, but she didn't get angry in the way her brother did. She just looked doubtful, like she didn't understand what was happening.

And then I realized what a mess I was making for myself now. As of this very moment, I was now the number-one priority. I would be the first one to die because as long as I was still standing, we were on semi-equal footing with the Volturi. Our entire side would be able to have at it, with nothing to stop them. Our enemies would have no supernatural weapons at all.

"I'm going to need to concentrate," I whispered. "I don't know how I will keep the shield around the right people."

"I'll keep them off you. Don't worry," Edythe murmured.

"You _have_ to get to Delphia," I told her.

"I'll go after Jasen and Alex myself," Kirill said, bouncing eagerly on the balls of his feet. "They need a taste of their own medicine."

"I just want that evil blonde bitch," Taran said evenly, glaring at balefully at Athenodora.

As everyone started to divvy up opponents, we were quickly interrupted when Sulpicia spoke finally.

"Before we vote," she began.

I shook my head furiously. I was so sick of the charade. The bloodlust rushed through me again like heat in my veins, and I wished that I didn't have to concentrate on something that didn't involve fighting. I _wanted_ to fight.

"Please be advised," Sulpicia continued. "Whatever the council's decision, there is no reason for any violence here."

Edythe couldn't help but snarl out a dark laugh. "Ridiculous," she muttered.

Sulpicia gave her a remorseful look. "It will be such a regrettable waste to lose any of you. But you especially, young Edythe, and your incredible mate. The Volturi will be glad to welcome a few of you to our ranks if you choose not to join the fight. Beau… Edythe… Kirill… There are many choices before you. Please do consider them."

Chariton's attempts to break us apart fluttered in again, and Sulpicia gauged each of our faces, trying to find any hint of disloyalty to Carine. I could tell that she saw no sign of any of us backing down.

I knew she would be desperate to keep Edythe and me, to imprison us the way she'd intended with Archie. That was clearly what Archie had seen to make him run. It all made sense now. Power.

Maybe I could live… Sulpicia would instruct them to bring me in alive, surely. But then again… could she win the battle if I wasn't dead? I was fiercely elated to find out that I was so powerful to make for such a tough decision.

"Let us vote," she said with reluctance.

Athenodora interposed herself at once in a caustic voice. "There are far too many inscrutable factors which we simply cannot tolerate. We shall eliminate the unknown—the child will be destroyed, along with anyone who attempts to interfere with the decision!" She smiled in a subtle coercion of the others to follow through with similar verdicts.

I started to feel a strange shuddering then. It was like the ground underneath me were quivering in some sort of earthquake.

Edythe's lips were suddenly at my ear. "Beau, are you all right?"

"What do you mean?" At her question, the sensation subsided. Then I realized what had caused it.

It was me… trembling.

But the erratic judder wasn't out of fear; it came from the way I was containing a pressure that was refusing to be bound. The urge to charge the white-haired woman right then and there was overwhelming.

I tried to distract myself by focusing on Marcus now. I watched as his uncaring eyes shifted around at those on our side before he cast his vote. It seemed to take an eternity for him to speak, and I half expected Athenodora to disrupt his careful contemplation.

"I foresee no trepidation from the child. All is well for now. There is no need to take action today, as nothing prevents us from re-evaluating as time goes on. Let us remain noble, sisters." His voice was so fragile and quiet, it reminded me of a wise old man.

None of the guard relaxed in response to Marcus' opposition. Athenodora's grin didn't seem to falter either. It was as if Marcus held very little weight in their decision-making.

"So it seems that I shall make the deciding vote," Sulpicia mused.

Edythe stiffened next to me, and I could tell she was trying to hold back just as hard as I had been. Our time had finally run out.

And in this last moment, I couldn't help but take away some sense of pride in what a spectacle we'd created for Sulpicia's witnesses to see. Because I imagined the Volturi hadn't fought such a close fight since their inception, or at least not with such a great disadvantage.

Here we stood, waiting, ready for the attack, with gifts of our own while theirs were all rendered useless because of me. Our numbers would surely be decimated… Okay, most likely eliminated. But _their_ numbers would surely dwindle, too. Maybe there was even that small probability they would lose. I wasn't counting on those odds, but I sure as hell was smug that they'd never had to deal with this possibility before.

Archie had to have been certain we'd all die here. Or at least he was making sure we wholeheartedly believed that so Sulpicia would be positive we had nothing left up our sleeves once she came in with her final trick that would condemn us.

But then why hadn't Archie just told me everything? Only everyone else had to think we were dead, not _me_ necessarily.

Well, then again… I wasn't the greatest actor. Maybe Archie was smarter than I gave him credit for.

All the eyes of the guard seemed to focus in on me in particular with speculation. The brawniest ones, like Felizia and a handful of others I had no name for who were all shrouded in the more prestigious deep grey, looked almost hopeful as they stared at me. Maybe they'd deduced that despite my shield being impenetrable to the more mystical offenses, it would do nothing against brute force. The blitz would ensue as soon as Sulpicia gave the order, and I would be the number-one target. How long could I make it? Long enough for the others to take out Jasen and Alexandra? Delphia? That was all I could ask for. Surely once they were out of the equation, the others might be on more equal footing.

Bloodlust ignited within me again, and I was ready for the fight. I looked forward to it. In fact, it sort of disappointed me that I would be more help to everyone if I just stood still to concentrate.

Sulpicia was going to speak the words any moment now. There was only one last thing, one unspeakably regretful thing left to do. The hardest thing I would ever do.

I turned to Julie with a devastated expression. _"Now,"_ I mouthed silently.

Julie whimpered and gave one last look at Edythe and me, and then to the rest of the pack. Then with careful steps, she silently started slinking backward away from us.

There was unfortunately nothing we could do to conceal her escape, though. She was too big. I just prayed to God she was fast.

I allowed myself one final look at Luca. His eyes were the absolute picture of remorse. The onslaught of pain crushed me so completely, so inescapably, it was as if I was being choked, suffocated by it. I could barely hold on to that small fraction of whatever fight was left in me to face the Volturi, to not give up. I wanted to run straight after them. I wanted to climb onto the giant russet wolf and rip my son off her back and crush him into my chest and never let go.

I moved my lips silently. _Goodbye_.

I closed my eyes tightly, anticipating the coming reaction. Just a few seconds was all they'd need… Surely the universe wasn't so cruel to deny them that. I prayed fervently the ancients were too caught up in their business to notice.

And in truth, they really were sufficiently distracted. The real problem was the dozens of others who weren't so caught up in deliberation. Then, as if right on queue with my thoughts, a few guard members tensed up and started to mutter angrily amongst themselves.

Athenodora whipped around sharply to face us before she snarled the words that had me cringing in terror. "The dog! It's taking the boy!"

All at once, the entire Volturi guard snapped their attention to Julie, tensed forward to spring. Escape attempts were clearly not out of the ordinary.

I turned around to look at Julie, who was a good fifty yards behind us now.

"Run!" I shouted.

Julie whipped around and took off in an all-out sprint for the southern tree line, just as fast as any vampire could run.

"After that mutt! Seize the boy at once!" Athenodora shrieked.

Sulpicia threw her hands up. "Wait!" she urged, halting the soldiers before turning to us.

She stared into my eyes for a long, tense moment. I had no idea what she was searching for, but she had surely found it, because after this split second of measurement, something very subtle in her expression had changed, and I knew that Sulpicia had made her final decision.

At precisely that moment, Julie disappeared with Luca into the thick of the trees.

Athenodora, refusing to wait to consult with Sulpicia, started growling out orders. "Delphia! Sergio! Follow the rogue one to the south, then eliminate both of them. Do not return until you have done so. We will take care of the aberration here."

The two guards sprang into action without hesitation, but they stopped dead in their tracks when Sulpicia defied the demand. "Stop!"

Sulpicia turned to Athenodora. "Sister…"

Athenodora glared at her in stunned silence. Then Sulpicia's face was blank with the incapability of what to do in a situation like this—one she thought she'd never have to face. And then all of her theatrics were over. The guard was still tensed and ready, albeit confused, though Sulpicia did not give any further command. She was resigned. Because the truth was she didn't care about Luca at all. What she really wanted was still right here in front of her.

I analyzed all their expressions anxiously. Should we wait to attack them when they tried to go after Luca? We were standing between them. It seemed like the obvious thing to do.

We unanimously realized the advantage we needed to take in this pause. Each one of us began to spread out, leaving space between each person to span a wider distance. Everyone crouched defensively, ready for the coming attack.

Sulpicia's friendly façade disappeared entirely now. "Arrest the Cullens," she said coldly.

Six members of the guard moved slowly forward in unison, but I could tell this was no assault. We stood in still compliance as the dark cloaks reached out their detaining arms. The one named Felizia gripped me roughly by the arms, pinning them behind my back. At the same time, the others had the rest of us held in the same grasp—Edythe, Carine, Earnest, Royal, and Eleanor. Then our friends were shoved aside.

Sulpicia stalked forward menacingly. For the first time, she actually looked angry. "You will call back your wolf at once, Cullens! I want the child returned to justice immediately, or you shall each face execution!"

None of us spoke as Sulpicia gazed into each of our eyes. We all stared forward in silence. She hesitated for a moment, then turned to her guard. "Delphia?"

The small, blonde girl stepped forward. "Yes, master?"

"Do retrieve the boy. Apparently, the Cullens have chosen to conduct things the more difficult way."

Delphia looked uneasily out at the south end of the field, clearly drawing a blank as she tried to pinpoint what Archie could never see, and what she would never be able to find.

I nearly jumped with joy as the girl's face sunk. Holy shit… Archie was such a genius.

"Well?" Athenodora asked impatiently as she marched over to Delphia. "Don't tell me you pity the boy as well. Get on with it!"

Edythe let out a laugh, trying to contain her sudden relief. "She won't find them, Sulpicia. I don't care how good you think she is. She will _never_ find them. They're too different from us, and you know that." The triumph was clear in her voice, and the expression on her face was one an angel of destruction might wear while the world burned around her. Oh-so beautiful, yet terrifying.

Sulpicia pursed her lips, her eyes darting around again when she couldn't decide what to do. Then she reached over and grabbed Delphia's hand to face the indisputable truth I'd put my faith in all this time.

Sulpicia hissed, throwing Delphia's hand down in frustration.

Every bit of that familiar, gentle composure vanished, and suddenly Sulpicia really was Athenodora's sister. She took two steps toward Carine, whipping another metallic torch from her cloak as she twisted the front of Carine's coat up into her fist. "I demand that you call your dog back along with the child. _Now_."

When Carine gave no immediate response, Sulpicia jerked her face in closer to stare directly into her eyes. That's when I heard the torch ignite.

"Stop!" I shouted, lunging forward towards them. I strained against Felizia's impossible hold. "Carine had nothing to do with this! It was my idea. The wolf ran on _my_ orders. No one else knew anything of my plan."

I glanced to my side, looking Edythe in the face. Her expression was so pleading it was heartbreaking. But I had already made up my mind. Felizia nudged me from behind, and I stepped forward, ready to surrender.

I lowered my head, refusing to meet Sulpicia's gaze.

Sulpicia pondered this for a moment, assessing the new revelation. I sighed with relief as she relaxed her grip on Carine and touched her face, getting the proof she needed. I could see the desire so plainly in the woman's eyes—the desperate hope that what I'd said wasn't true.

"You truly were not aware of the boy's intentions…" she muttered in disbelief.

She moved hastily down the line then, touching all of their hands, trying to find some grain of evidence that anyone else might have been in on the plan.

Lastly, she came to Edythe, hesitating for a long second. Again, I could read in her face that last hope, how so very badly she wanted Edythe to be guilty. Something to claim her on. But of course, she found nothing. Then she turned sharply to look at me.

"You… Come," she said, beckoning me forward.

Felizia shoved me ahead to stand before Sulpicia.

The ancient woman's face was hard as stone under the paper-thin skin. "It seems we have the courage to fabricate elaborate escape plans for he whose fate isn't yours to decide…" Sulpicia muttered as she paced the snow in front of me, never looking away from my face. Her clouded red eyes were oddly captivating, and I found it hard to break her gaze. "How very foolish of you, young Beau."

Edythe hissed through her teeth. "Get away from her!"

I ignored Edythe as Sulpicia went on. "If you think that it is wise to play games with the Volturi, then you are sadly mistaken, my child…"

"Sometimes such actions are necessary…" I said in a flat voice. "…so long as people as wicked and vile as you exist. And quite frankly, Sulpicia, I've won the game, because he's out of your reach. So, honestly, I don't give a fuck what you do with me now."

Sulpicia's jaw clenched as she straightened up to face Carine and the others. "In consequence of his crimes, Beau will face the following ultimatum…" she announced formally, then turned back to me. "He will either deliver the child to justice, or he is sentenced to indefinite servitude to the Volturi."

"Sulpicia, he is so young," Carine pleaded. "I will volunteer to take his place instead."

"We do not bargain!" Athenodora snapped in annoyance.

Sulpicia shook her head. "Leave in peace, Carine," she warned. "This is the council's final and only decision. Until the Luca is returned, Beau will remain in our custody."

"No!" Edythe hissed, furiously thrashing against the man restraining her.

I stared at Edythe pleadingly. _Please don't fight them_ , I thought as hard as I could at her, trying as hard as I could to push the words through the confines of my shield.

The entire guard was staring uncomprehendingly at Sulpicia; this clearly wasn't their usual way of handling things. But I knew it was only her next ploy, trying whatever she could to get Edythe to attack, and subsequently, the rest of our family.

The Volturi witnesses began muttering and debating amongst one another, disrupting the tense silence that filled the clearing. Sulpicia turned around to quiet them with a wave of her hand.

"Beau…" Sulpicia said as she smiled alluringly at me. "On behalf of the council's mercy, you must make your decision immediately… Do not make me change my mind."

I couldn't believe it. She was actually going to let them all _free_. All I had to do was become the sacrifice.

"I accept," I said in a cold, dead voice, attempting to disguise my elation. "Even if I wanted to find Luca, I do not know where he will hide. I will join you."

Sulpicia clapped her hands together, and her peaceable resolve returned. She had finally gotten what she'd wanted, which was to leave this place with more than she'd arrived with. "Ah, don't we all just love a happy ending? They are so rare."

"Get away from her, Beau," Edythe groaned through her bared teeth.

Sulpicia addressed Edythe now, as well as the others. "Remember, there is no need for rash outbursts you will only regret later. Please accept the council's generous pardon without any violence, and always remember this condition… If the boy is returned, you get Beau back. No questions asked—it will be as simple as that."

Edythe was suddenly shrieking with rage. As I turned to console her, she kicked the guard holding her in the crotch. Then she slipped from his grasp in a movement so fast it was almost invisible, and she was suddenly charging straight at us.

"Edythe, don't!" I screamed at her.

All I could see was Edythe hurdling toward us through the air, and it was suddenly as if time slowed to a creeping crawl. My shield remained intact, so all of Sulpicia's guard looked utterly helpless when no invisible force prevented this charge in the way they were all accustomed.

That's when I realized that _I_ had to be the one to stop her, or this whole thing was going to end in an unspeakable disaster.

I pulled the shield away with all my efforts, forcing it to slip back into place around me, and her spark disappeared.

Instantaneously, Edythe was on the ground. No one had touched her, but she was lying flat on the snow writhing in agony as I stared in horror. No sound escaped her lips as her body arched upward unnaturally off the ground. Her eyes bulged out, and the veins in her forehead protruded. I thought my head would explode from the pain of watching it.

Standing right next to Sulpicia, Jasen was grinning an evil smile at Edythe's incapacitated form.

That did it for me. I relaxed, and the shield automatically snapped back out to its place around Edythe. Like someone had turned off a switch, she exhaled sharply in relief as she sunk back into the snow, gasping for air like she'd been choking.

"Edythe, you have to stop this now," I begged her. "This is what they want. If you attack now, we all die!"

Edythe looked up at me with a betrayal I didn't entirely understand. Did she _want_ us to burn? I thought then of how I would feel if our roles were reversed, and I realized that I would be just as far gone, well beyond any sort of rationalization.

"Ha, ha, haaa!" Sulpicia cackled as she looked at me. "This is truly _wonderful!"_ she mused.

I glowered in return, wishing I could burn her using my hatred like Jasen.

The soldier who had been holding onto Edythe scooped her off of the ground, moving her up to her knees. His arm wrapped underneath her chin.

I jerked forward in Felizia's hold. "Wait, no!"

Sulpicia held out her hand, waving the fighter off of Edythe. "My dear, Mrs. Cullen… If you are so unhappy to be parted from him, all you had to do was merely ask for your own invitation. We would be delighted to add your gift to our coven as well."

Edythe nodded once, looking down at the ground, totally defeated.

The grey-cloaked man lifted her up to her feet, keeping a tight grip on her arms behind her back. He shoved her forward to stand next to me.

"I am so glad this could be resolved at last with no violence," Sulpicia said sweetly. "Carine, my old friend, I hope there are no hard feelings. I know you understand the strict burden that our duties place on our shoulders. I hope you can accept this covenant."

Carine's face turned down in anguish. She closed her eyes tightly with grief. We all knew she nor anyone else would ever go after Luca. Her fists clenched tightly together as she tried to keep her dignity intact.

"If you wish to bring your family together again, it would be prudent of you to deliver the boy as soon as you should find him," Sulpicia continued. "And I truly am sorry to earn your disapproval, Carine. Perhaps in time, you will forgive me."

Carine remained motionless, refusing to look at her.

I couldn't bear to look at her or the rest of our family's pained faces. Luckily, no one moved into thoughtless action. They knew perfectly well that any attempt to stop Sulpicia now would be in vain. All the Cullens were willing to die, but not if their deaths weren't going to mean anything. As a family, we made sacrifices for very specific reasons, but we would never waste our lives senselessly.

Sulpicia turned with a solemn expression, and then she smiled warmly at her guard. "Dear ones," she called. "We do not fight today."

There was one beat of silence, and then it actually hit me.

It was over. No one was going to die today because of me. We'd really survived—every single one of us. Against all the odds, I'd been able save everything that ever mattered to me.

In the most ironic way, happiness expanded like an explosion through my entire body. It was so extreme, such a violent wave of emotion that I wasn't sure I'd survive it.

Edythe and I still had forever. These last few weeks made me appreciate that now more than I ever could before. And Luca was going to be fine and healthy and strong.

And that was so much more than I could have asked for.

I couldn't speak. I pulled Edythe into a tight embrace and kissed her with a passion that should have set the forest on fire.

Even if it had, I doubt I would have noticed.


	32. EPILOGUE — DESTINY

EPILOGUE — DESTINY

I probably should have been staring out the deeply tinted windows to witness the city of Florence and all the Tuscan countryside as the nondescript black car traversed the Italian highways. I'd never been out of the country before, so in a way this was my first trip anywhere, and likely my last. For one, I was too tortured with anxiety to really see the rolling hills or high-walled towns. But more than that, I was so euphoric at the prospect of still having Edythe forever that I couldn't bring myself to take my eyes off her face.

After a long flight across the Atlantic in a private plane that was most likely stolen, we'd landed in Rome. We separated there into smaller groups, hurrying to get into matching sleek cars that looked important enough for transporting government officials, just before the rising sun crested over the horizon. Our car carried us along with the four most powerful members—Jasen, Alexandra, Felizia, and Delphia—as well as another woman I had no name for who was driving the car. It was difficult to even see what she looked like; she was covered head to toe in normal clothing, barely a single inch of her pale skin exposed. A headscarf covered her hair and forehead. She had some sort of face mask pulled up to the bridge of her nose. There were elbow-length tan gloved covering her arms, and blue-tinted contacts concealed her red irises, blending the colors to appear as a strange shade of violet that didn't make them look any more natural. Then again, I guessed this color woudln't be as creepy as red.

It was dead silent in the car up until we'd reached the heart of the city of Volterra. Large turrets rose high into the sky above the Palazzo de Priori, built seamlessly into the walls of the ancient city. I stared, mesmerized at the towering castle that looked like it belonged in medieval times.

"We do not leave the car until dark," Delphia warned.

Edythe and I nodded, and we watched as the woman driving the car slipped large sunglasses over her eyes and stepped out into the bright sunlight. She disappeared through a big door at street level under the main turret of the castle.

I took the extra time to continue staring at Edythe's too beautiful face. It was hard to believe that she was here in my arms—that we were no longer about to be killed at any moment. Life was almost perfect again... at least until sunset.

"Oh, Edythe," I whispered.

"What is it?" she asked anxiously, moving a hand to the center of my back.

I leaned to press my forehead into hers. "Am I crazy for feeling happy right now?"

"No." She laughed lightheartedly. "I know precisely what you mean. There are lots of reasons to be happy. For one, we're alive."

"Yeah," I agreed. "I'd say that's a pretty good reason. But more important than that, we're together."

She nodded. "And with any luck, those things will remain true tomorrow."

"Forever, hopefully," I amended.

"You should consider your outlook quite good," Delphia said, interrupting our reverie. "You should enjoy your time here. It's truly not what you imagine."

How should I imagine it? A nice vacation? Of course, for Delphia this was different. She could trust her captors. She hadn't been separated from everyone she loved... Well, _almost_ everyone. Lucky for her...

I had a million questions that couldn't be asked, mostly because I was terrified of the answers. Were we really free from danger? Would the rest of our family truly be safe in our time apart? And just what were they going to do? Would we ever get to see them again? I knew perfectly well what the conditions were for our captivity. But there was one little factor that seemed to have been overlooked—Luca wouldn't be a child forever. How long before he was a mature adult? What then? Would the Volturi still demand his blood in the future for retribution?

I had to stop thinking. It was much more wise not to ruin the moment and just pretend everything was going to be all right. We lay quiet in each others' arms, and I fought against that weariness. I wasn't going to waste any of this guaranteed, semi-private time we had like this. Every once in a while, I would lean in and kiss her, brushing my lips across the perfect smoothness of hers. She caressed my hair, ran her fingers across my forehead, the tip of my nose, and her lips would suddenly find mine again.

I lost track of time completely. It was heaven right here in the middle of hell.

When the time did come, there were very few people lingering out and about. The street lamps were just coming on as we walked through the narrow, cobbled paths. The sky had just faded into a dull grey, but the buildings that crowded the streets so densely made it seem much darker.

Jasen led the way, and his size was so insignificant that I found it ironic how the others followed his every move like he was the boss.

I smiled as I decided that when it came down to it, today really belonged to happiness. Though the separations—Luca and Julie, Edythe and me from the others—however permanent they may be, were a dark shadow over the white light that kept the joy from perfection, I could never deny I felt that joy. The lives I'd always fought for were safe again. Death was held at bay once more, to be put off to another tomorrow.

"You know," I whispered quietly to Edythe. "I'm sort of amazed, given how many other ways this could have gone down, that this turned out relatively okay. It seems impossible that we were just _that_ lucky."

Edythe smiled. "Oh, that's not the most amazing thing saw today. And it has nothing to do with luck."

I looked at her inquisitively, and she smiled again like she was in on some joke.

"Really, Beau, I already knew you were special, and I could never deserve someone like you, but that was something else today."

"Actually, I think we owe our lives to the wolves. Without them, none of it would have been possible," I argued.

Edythe shook her head and began laughing. "When will you ever see yourself clearly?" she said softly. "Yes, your secret escape for him was brilliant, to say the least. But what you don't realize is once he was out of reach, it gave Sulpicia the excuse she needed to get out of the fight. If she hadn't been so terrified of you, she probably would have gone through with the original plan."

I glanced nervously at the Volturi members walking in a tight line some distance behind us. None of them seemed to care about our conversation or even notice we were speaking. They all just looked straight ahead, absolutely silent.

"I wouldn't be so quick to praise my handywork," I said. "It's the reason we're stuck here now."

She turned my face to look at her as we walked.

"It's been a long few weeks. The hardest in my life. But I want you to know that you are extraordinary. I would never take any of it back. I love you; I regret nothing as long as you're with me."

I pulled her tightly into me. "I'd follow you anywhere. Straight into the depths of hell if I had to."

She lifted her arm to wrap it around my neck as we continued on. "Forever?" she asked.

"Forever," I agreed.

I leaned in so that my lips met hers.

Wherever we were, no matter the circumstances, forever with Edythe Cullen was always going to be amazing. Nothing could take that from me.

When we reached the same big door the driver had disappeared through, Jasen spoke for the first time since we'd left the clearing. "Follow me," he instructed, disappearing into the dark.

Edythe walked after Jasen at once, keeping a tight grip on my hand as she pulled me along behind her. We entered a fancy-looking reception area decorated with paintings of the Italian landscape, where glass tables held vases full of flowers. There was a polished, mahogany counter in the middle of the room, and I realized the woman standing behind it was human.

She was tall, with tan skin and green eyes. If she were with any other company, she would have been beautiful. But not next to everyone else in the room. I couldn't figure out what she would be doing here, totally at ease in a room full of vampires. Did she even know?

She smiled at us when at last she noticed our arrival. "Buon pomeriggio!" she greeted in Italian.

Jasen nodded. "Gianna."

The room was full of doors and an elevator, but we didn't use any of them. I figured they must have only been there as a cover up. Jasen walked to the end of a long stone hallway, then lifted a metal grate that covered a hole in the floor. He didn't hesitate as he dropped down through the hole.

I had to let go of Edythe to let her slip through the hole, and I wasted no time following after her. The air whirred past me for just a fraction of a second before I hit another stony floor below. All light vanished except for what came through the opening above us.

I pulled Edythe by the waist closer to my side, and we began to move swiftly forward again. I held onto her tightly as we made our way down the uneven stone corridor.

I wished I could know exactly what would happen now, but Edythe seemed relatively at ease.

The tunnel took us deeper into the ground, and the darkness began to lift slightly. We were in a low, arched tunnel. Moisture seeped down the stone walls, and the musty smell faintly reminded me of an underground drainage system.

At the end of the long tunnel was another grate, but this one was an actual door. The massive iron bars were rusting, but it looked very sturdy. Jasen pushed the door open, creating a harsh grating sound as it scratched across the floor. I had to duck through as we entered into a larger, brighter room. Jasen slammed the door and snapped a lock.

At the other end of this long room was a heavy, wooden door that stood open slightly.

Edythe announced in a whisper, "We're here."

Through the open door, a stone antechamber opened quickly into a much brighter, cavernous room. It was a perfect circle. It only occurred to me now that we were inside the huge castle turret.

The room was probably two stories high, and long window slits channeled beams of light onto the floor below in a pattern of rectangles. In the middle of the room were three massive, ornately carved wooden chairs that looked more like thrones. Behind them were two vast, dark red curtains drawn to either side in a way that nearly resembled a theatre stage. There was another drain hole in the back of the room, and I wondered if it was used as an exit.

I was taking in the unusual beauty of this place when I was suddenly interrupted by the strangest sound. The noise wasn't too dissimilar to the loud pulsing of the wolfpack's hearts. Was there a _werewolf_ here?

That's when the creature stepped out from behind the curtains, causing me to jump back with a start. Its huge, dark shape eased forward out of the shadows. It was enormous, just as tall as the werewolves, but even thicker and more muscular. It purred loudly, and the sound rumbled throughout the room.

I stared at the monstrous creature, my mind scrambling to find the name to put to it. There was a distinct feline shape to it, stealthy in the way that it moved. When I realized the beast was covered in long black stripes, I knew what I was seeing.

Sheba.

Sulpicia's pet she'd insisted was not so different from the wovles was in fact a tiger, three times bigger than any tiger I had ever seen.

A handful of people standing in the center of the room looked up from their casual conversation. They all turned toward us now. And I realized I hadn't recognized them because they were wearing normal pants and pale shirts now—all except one wearing a long, pitch-black robe.

"My dear recruits, you've arrived!" Sulpicia cried out in delight.

I couldn't help but glare at her with a martyred expression. She greeted us as if we were old friends dropping in for a visit, rather than being sentenced here as her prisoners. I found her out-of-place enthusiasm incredibly annoying.

My eyes moved back to the mind-boggling tiger.

"Ah, I'm not the only one who makes use of a furry protector, you see," Sulpicia snickered. "Say hello to Sheba."

Sheba made a gruff chittering sound.

"Felizia, would you be a dear and notify my brother and sister?" Sulpicia asked.

"Yes, master." Felizia nodded. She disappeared in the direction we had come from.

"I'm sorry that we have not yet been introduced to each other properly, young Beau. It's just that I already feel as though I know you very well, and I tend to get ahead of myself. I've already been introduced, as you surely have inferred, by way of Edythe's thoughts… You see, I have a talent myself—you might call it a night vision of the soul. I can see into the dark places that people so desperately try to keep hidden."

"He already knows," Edythe said dryly.

Sulpicia continued on. "I share in some of Edythe's talent, though I am limited in a way she is not..." Sulpicia sighed. "To be able to hear from a distance. That is so _convenient."_

Her eyes marveled over the two of us like we were the ultimate prize. Then she looked over our shoulders to the back of the room, where Felizia had just returned. Athenodora and Marcus entered then, both wearing the same robes that dragged the floor.

Seeing them here together in this room was like looking back at Carine's painting. It was as if all of time and history condensed into one timeless place, like the three hundred years since hadn't happened.

"Marcus, Athenodora, look!" Sulpicia said. "The time has come! Isn't today one for the books?"

Neither of them looked exactly thrilled for us to be here. Marcus looked downright bored as usual. He'd probably grown tired after a millennia of Sulpicia's enthusiasm. Athenodora looked just as sour as she had in the clearing.

The two ancients drifted toward the wooden thrones to take their seats. As they passed by us, Marcus reached his hand out to touch Sulpicia briefly and then dropped it to his side.

He took his throne opposite of Athenodora, leaving the center chair open.

Sulpicia smiled. "It's truly amazing…" she marveled. "Marcus has a sense for the nature of relationships, and the intensity of yours is very surprising."

I looked at Marcus' face, which didn't look any more interested than it had been before.

"However, Edythe, I find it so difficult to understand," Sulpicia went on, "how you were able to endure such involvement with him whilst he was human. And yet, here he is, an immortal after all. Such a happy ending."

"It wasn't without difficulty," Edythe answered.

"But still, the appeal… _La tua cantante_ ," she muttered. "Such a waste!" Sulpicia had to compose herself at the memory of the scent of my blood. "I've never experienced such a call to someone's blood myself. Most of us would give a great deal for such a treasure, and yet you…"

"Waste it?" Edythe mocked sarcastically.

Sulpicia laughed. "Ah, Carine and her strange ways. You remind me of her so much, only she wasn't so angry."

"That isn't without cause," Edythe muttered.

Sulpicia continued on about self-control. "I expected Carine would waste away from it, weaken over time. I'd scoffed at her plan to seek others who shared the same vision. Yet, I am very surprised now to see so many who have adopted it."

She paused, seeming to expect some response, but Edythe said nothing.

"The restraint you had!" Sulpicia's eyes were incredulous. "Even just remembering how he appealed to you makes me so thirsty…"

Edythe went rigid at whatever Sulpicia was picturing.

"Of course, I am so very grateful for your course of action. Beau makes for quite the intriguing immortal. I did not know such a gift could exist!" She turned to me then. "So very remarkable that Edythe should find the one exception to her impressive skill. And you prove to confound us all! Consider yourself lucky. I once asked Jasen to do his thing to me, just out of curiosity." She shook her head in admiration. "So… what do we do with you now?"

Athenodora broke the long silence that followed. "Your efforts should be targeted on finding the fugitive who now runs free. Yet you waste time entertaining yourself with guests. I do not condone this behavior, sister."

"Sister," Sulpicia chided. "Don't pretend you can't see the potential. I haven't seen talent so promising since we found Jasen and Alexandra. Just imagine the possibilities with this one!"

Athenodora looked away with a caustic expression. Jasen made a face of indignity at the comparison.

"Well, let us not tarry any further," Sulpicia said, clapping her hands together. "Edythe, Beau… Do you formally pledge your allegiance to the Volturi? I would be delighted to see your gifts put to good use."

Edythe scoffed. "As if we have another choice. It's join or die, is it not? So much for your _laws_."

"The law claims _you,"_ Athenodora rebuked.

Was it really such a loathsome idea? With Edythe near me, I found it hard to be unhappy. The fairy tale was back on. The prince and the princess were together forever at last. The spell was broken.

And despite our tale's silver lining, my heart was pained at the thought of the one leftover, unresolved character. Where was _his_ happily ever after?

"We will join you," I answered confidently.

"Delightful!" Sulpicia cheered. "Now, if only I were so lucky as to stumble across young Archie as well. Imagine the joy he would bring to our household…"

Edythe's intense glare cut her thought short.

Sulpicia shook her head. "Let's adorn you, shall we?" She snapped her fingers.

The tall, slender woman who'd driven the car carried two folded dark gray cloaks like prized possessions as she entered the room at the command. The cloaks were that darkest shade, second only to the pure black of the ancients, the same as Jasen and Alexandra's.

And just like that, we were already considered part of the elite.

Athenodora and Marcus rose to their feet as Sulpicia and the tall woman held the cloaks open, ready for us to step into them.

The setting may not have been what I had in mind, but my world was complete. As long Edythe and I were together, that was all that mattered. The rest I could deal with.

Luca would be safe for as long as he should live. And in the end, I was exactly where I wanted to be, because I was where Edythe was. As long as this remained true, nothing could overshadow my joy.

Edythe's face softened subtly with doubt. She pursed her lips, and her golden eyes were probing as she examined my face.

I squeezed her hand gently. "It's okay," I said. "I will be with you forever—isn't that enough?"

Edythe smiled at the tenacity in my voice. "Yes, it is enough. Enough for now."

I leaned down to press my lips once more to hers, then I urged her forward.

I felt strong again. All would one day be made right. Soon.

I drew in a deep breath and relaxed. I knew that I could face anything now because she loved me more than anything else in the world combined. That would always be enough. Enough for forever.

In the words of Jules Verne, _If his destiny be strange, it is also sublime…_

I squared my shoulders as I took the first bold step forward to meet my fate, holding tightly to my destiny solidly at my side.

* * *

THE END

* * *

 _"I've found a world where love and dreams and darkness all collide._

 _Maybe this time, we can leave our broken world behind."_

 _—_ Amy Lee Hartzler

* * *

AFTERWORD

That's all for now, readers! If you've made it this far, I'd like to thank you so much for reading. It means a lot.

I'd love to hear what you think, so leave a review, send a PM.

Let me say, the fact there are changes, especially in the end, has nothing to do with me preferring it to the original or thinking the original was anti-climactic. I wanted to maintain the precedent set by Stephenie in writing an alternate conclusion with _Life and Death_. There was a big _what if_ factor, and I wanted to know what it would have been like in _Breaking Dawn_ if the Volturi had been just slightly more corrupt. I think this was the most likely outcome. You might hate it, and that's okay, because there were people who hated the way the original book ended. You can't please everyone.

 _If_ you prefer the nice fairy-tale version of the ending, here's the gist of it: Archie and Jessamine would show up at the last minute in the final chapter with Luca's biological vampire father and his half-sister, who is a fully grown hybrid. Sulpicia would admit there is no threat, the Volturi would leave, everyone would get what they want, and they'd all live happily ever after. The end. Oh yeah, and the Volturi would reign forevermore. (No thanks!)

 _Or_ there's option three: the fight actually does happen, in which case everyone would die. So take your pick.

Anyway, I hate to say it, but this is the end of Beau and Edythe's story...

"But what about Luca and Julie?!" you might ask...

Well, I never did say it was over for them. Stay tuned ;)

See you soon!


	33. Bonus: Q&A

_**This is a compilation of all the questions I've gotten from you guys, as well as a few from my own friends in person. Several of these I've answered several times, so I figured I would post them for all to see.**_

* * *

 **How did you decide on the title Beyond the Dawn?**

I took it from a line of a song titled _Your Love_ by Amy Lee, the lead singer of the band Evanescence.

The lyric is: _Holding onto whispers of your love / all we are is a dream beyond the dawn_.

This isn't a well known song, because it was never released; only a short clip of a live performance exists. So I thought this was perfect since it wouldn't really be familiar to anyone. It also has the same feel and tone as the original book, _Breaking Dawn_.

In both books, 'dawn' refers to the beginning of the new life as a vampire. This story was about what comes after _Life and Death_ , which essentially ends with the 'dawn' of Beau's new life. Hence, 'beyond' the 'dawn'.

* * *

 **What made you want to write this?**

First of all, like many of you, I wasn't satisfied with the seemingly abrupt ending of _Life and Death._ And really, how is it fair that Bella and Edward get four books?

Then I got the idea from Stephenie Meyer's afterword at the end of her book:

 _"You are free to imagine the rest - when, where, and how they get married... what Victor might try in order to get revenge... what Beau and Jules will say to each other when they meet again... if Beau and Royal ever become friends... whether the Volturi led by Sulpicia are a more benign, less corrupt organization..."_

I think I took it as a challenge. So I started by covering all of those points, and then it turned into much, much more. At first, I did think Stephenie was right about that last part, but I soon found it she was so very wrong. Sulpicia will be Sulpicia, and I wasn't going to change her mind.

* * *

 **Don't you think the preface is a bit of a spoiler? It gives away where the antagonism will come from on the first page.**

This was something that was very classic Stephenie Meyer. She always began each book with a preface taken from the most climactic part of the plot. I've heard about people who will read a page from the end of a book before starting to give themselves a sense of anticipation of where the story will head. I've sort of done that for you (because I totally think you're breaking the unspoken writer/reader contract by skipping ahead!)

* * *

 **What's with the drastically different ending? Don't you think some people might be a bit disappointed?**

I wanted to maintain the precedent of the alternate ending featured in Life and Death that is so different from Twilight. If you change one tiny detail, like the fact that there is no evidence to prove anything about Luca, the whole aftermath changes. There were a lot of criticisms with Breaking Dawn being considered too anti-climactic. I don't think this ending is any better, but the point was to show that no matter how it ends, someone isn't going to like it. Some have thought it was wonderful, some thought it was horrible. The same is true no matter which way you end it.

* * *

 **Why is it so rare for these vampires to live the way the Cullens do? What makes it so difficult for them to respect human life?**

Do you feel remorse whenever you consume meat? Most people don't. And most ask why should we? Compared to us, chickens and cattle and fish are short-lived, weak, unintelligent animals that are going to die soon anyway, right? We are predators; they are prey. It's just the natural order of things. That's the pervasive argument. Similarly, we have a small subset of vegetarians and vegans who make a great sacrifice to avoid what everyone else sees as normal.

Most vampires see humans the same way. We are killed so easily in a multitude of ways every single day. In comparison, we have very brief lifespans as opposed to vampires, who live centuries or millennia. Vampires are the pinnacle of the food chain just like we tend to think we are. Are they not just following the dictates of nature?

The bigger issue is actually weakness. One of the more unique things about these vampires is that they don't just get pleasure from drinking blood; they are in physical pain every time they are thirsty. They literally go insane seeking the relief, and will act upon it without even giving it a conscious decision. If your hand was on fire, and there was a bucket of water in front of you, would you resist that relief? Even if it meant someone would die? Would you be able to even think clearly through the pain to be able to stop yourself? Probably not. The sensation vampires get in their throat and stomach is comparable to being lit on fire, and there is only one thing that will put that fire out – blood.

Let's just say the Cullens are doing something that is a lot harder than we give them credit for. I can't even comprehend how they're able to withstand it.

* * *

 **What does Beau look like? Do you have a dream cast?**

Beau is 6'2". He is fairly thin and lanky in proportions, but he is very lean, so he appears somewhat muscular. (Reference from _Life and Death: "_ You have very nice arms, Beau. This includes your shoulders and hands.") He has medium-length dark brown, somewhat wavy hair that he either pushes up messy (sort of movie Edward style) or straight back. His face is very chiseled in terms of his jaw/cheekbones, and his chin is very sharp and pointy. (Reference: "Or maybe it was your chin [I noticed] second.")

The best real-life representation of this is actor Colin Ford (Under the Dome, Supernatural, Captain Marvel) photo. This would be closest to what human Beau looks like. There's a great fan-made trailer featuring Colin as well as my pick for Edythe, Holland Roden (Teen Wolf) you can watch here.

The problem is appearance changes quite significantly after the transformation into a vampire. For vampire Beau, you have to imagine the same person but with more perfected, unrealistically flawless features. (Reference: "They were the faces you never saw in real life, just airbrushed in magazines and on billboards.") Take for example, french model Maxence Danet-Fauvel (Skam France), who is the actual face featured alongside Holland Roden on the book's cover art - photo

Morph those two people's features into one face, and bam - vampire Beau.

The rest of my dream cast is:

Charlize Theron - Carine

Michiel Huisman - Earnest

Christopher Mason - Royal

Alexandra Daddario - Eleanor

Nicholas Hoult - Archie

Amber Heard - Jessamine

Luca Fersko - Luca (appearance at maturity)

* * *

 **Do the wolves not imprint in your version?**

We learned in _Breaking Dawn_ the reason Jacob was always so attracted/connected to Bella was because her future biological daughter would be the object of his imprinting. Julie did have feelings for Beau, but since Luca has no genetic relation to him, this factor is absent.

Stephenie never mentions whether the predominately female wolf pack imprints or not. She also never gave any clue in the main series as to whether Leah would one day imprint on a mortal male. Furthermore, the wolves themselves don't even understand the basis of why imprinting happens to begin with. This doesn't leave me much to work with.

I didn't want to modify any of the existing mythology, and since all of this was ambiguous, I didn't decide anything with it. I just left it as is, where no wolf seems to have imprinted on anyone. If anything ever comes up where Stephenie reveals her secrets, I will modify the story accordingly.

* * *

 **What's with the whole baby thing in this version? Was it really necessary if Beau and Edythe can't have their own child?**

The biggest challenge in adapting the rest of Bella and Edward's story into this version was the domino effect Stephenie created by sealing Beau's fate at the end of _Life and Death_. This removed the possibility of their separation as in _New Moon_ and the entire development of Beau's relationship with Julie and just her character in general. Besides that, I have no female human character to work with, so no baby. And what does all of this mean? There wasn't much left for me to work with, because I needed a source of conflict to throw adversity at them. Can't have a plot without conflict. That leaves just one thing at my disposal: Victor.

Funny story... The first version I wrote of this fanfiction had no baby in it at all. But I had to get the Volturi involved in some way, because they're just too cool to leave out as villains. So what I'd tried was using Victor to get the Volturi upset with the Cullens in some way. But everything I came up with just felt too contrived. Any lie Victor told would be found out, and the Cullens are very clean. The Volturi have nothing on them that can't be proven to be a false allegation. The only way that _Breaking Dawn_ scenario with the Volturi works is because the half-vampire baby thing is a gray area. She appears to be a violation of the law, though she isn't. And still, the Volturi can justify killing her anyway because there's no precedent for what she is. "Only the known is safe. Only the known is tolerable."

So the short answer is, I tested it without the child to begin with, but the story was just too flimsy and forced without this element (not to mention short). And I really missed having the pregnancy/birth/child part of the story. So I threw two thirds of my work out and started again. I'm much more satisfied with this version.

 **Is this really the end of the story? What about Luca?**

This is the end of _Beyond the Dawn_ and the end of Beau's narrative. However, I will eventually continue with a new story that's the aftermath revolving around Luca. I hinted at this in the epilogue, about how there's one remaining unresolved character. I'd also like to point to Chapter 25: Declarations for more clues. ;)

I'm going to take a bit of a break; this was a long year of work (I was writing this well before I ever posted any chapters here), and I need to not think about it for a while so I don't burn myself out on it.

I'll come back soon with a sequel, so be sure to follow! I'm not sure how long it will take... since I will no longer just be 'reimagining' source material from Stephenie. There are a lot of decisions to be made, (who dies? who lives?) and I'm not sure how to work it all out. I have a point A and a point Z, but I still haven't figured out everything that comes in between. I have a rough outline of what to do next. I just need to figure out how to make all those pieces fit together. So stay tuned. I'm just as eager for it as you are.


End file.
